NASA, Air Force & Space Force Help Universities Compete to Build Small Satellites

Access the Solicitation and Q&A Session Information

Overview

NASA and the Air Force & Space Force are working together on a brand-new collaboration to broaden access to space and strengthen the capabilities and knowledge of higher education institutions, faculty, and students. A solicitation for the University Nanosatellite Program (UNP) Mission Concepts Summer Series will be released in early January 2023. This set of hands-on engagements from May through August 2023 will help universities elevate their efforts to build small satellites and enhance their potential to be selected for the Air Force Research Laboratory UNP and NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) competitions. Please note that participation in this Summer Series does not guarantee future selection in the full UNP cycle or CSLI.

The UNP Mission Concepts Summer Series includes stipends and travel for up to five technical workshops/reviews at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and NASA as well as AFRL internships, to support and strengthen the readiness of selected schools and teams. The next full UNP cycle begins in 2024 and CSLI selections are made annually, so now is the time to get ready for these upcoming space opportunities. Recognizing that full satellite development is difficult and these competitions have aggressive schedules, this program will assist universities by minimizing various barriers to entry and improving the quality of proposals.

Teams from minority-serving institutions (MSIs) and Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are encouraged to apply.  Teams at majority institutions (neither MSI or HBCU) are also encouraged to provide a robust diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) component in their proposals.

Why Participate?

• Funding level (up to $70k) significantly alleviates participation difficulty for teams.
• Faculty no longer required to deal with other funding sources.
• Up to four students per team get four-week summer internships at AFRL.
• Allows professors/students to form a team without draining existing university resources.
• Includes travel funding for kickoff, final event, and any in-person reviews.

How to Apply

Interested universities are asked to submit proposals that will be reviewed for educational impact, university program development and impact, DEIA support, and NASA and/or DoD relevance. The program intends to select up to ten teams as funding allows.

Teams will provide their own mission ideas and suggestions; multiple concepts are recommended. Rather than a focus on evaluating initial proposed products, this program will guide teams in evaluating and refining their proposed concepts to ensure that end-products align with NASA and/or Department of Defense expectations and priorities.

More information about the solicitation will be available in January on the UNP website at https://universitynanosat.org/solicitation/. The call for proposals will be open for four weeks with notifications planned during late February, so institutions should start thinking now about teams and concepts as well as the ability to commit to events during summer 2023. We look forward to your submissions!

Contacts

For questions about NASA and CSLI, please contact Jose Nunez (jose.l.nunez@nasa.gov) and Norman Phelps (norman.l.phelps@nasa.gov).

For questions about the Air Force & Space Force and the full UNP cycle, please email info@universitynanosat.org.