ISS/SFO/R3 Grants

The R3 is a collaborative effort between NASA EPSCoR and the NASA Mission Directorate programs/offices. The goals of R3 are to provide a streamlined method to address research issues important to NASA, and to enable NASA EPSCoR researchers to work with NASA to solve research issues impacting the Agency’s programs/missions. Each funded NASA EPSCoR proposer shall work closely with a NASA researcher to focus on developing competitive research and technology for the solution of scientific and technical issues of importance to the NASA Mission Directorates. The Rapid Response Research (R3) program is an attempt to implement research within NASA and commercial partners to address technical issues. It will allow EPSCoR researchers to work alongside NASA and commercial partners for up to one year and is intended to strengthen the bonds among EPSCoR jurisdictions, NASA, the commercial partners, and other entities.

• Institutions can submit a total of three proposals.
• Limited solicitation process is managed by the PIs institution. PIs are encouraged to discuss this with their office of grants and contracts.
• Proposers are strongly encouraged to contact the research task point of contact (POC) to discuss their proposed submission.
• Proposals can be for up to $125,000 for a period of performance not to exceed one year. Cost-sharing is not required.
• Solicitation release November 11, 2024 (Expected – Second Monday of November)
• Proposal due date is February 24, 2025 (Expected – Fourth Monday of February)

2024 Rapid Research Response Solicitation

See NSPIRES for up to date information.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) solicits proposals for the NASA Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) International Space Station (ISS) Flight Opportunity. Each funded NASA EPSCoR proposal is expected to establish research activities that will make significant contributions to the strategic research and technology development priorities of one or more of NASA’s Mission Directorates, and contribute to the overall research infrastructure, science and technology capabilities, higher education, and economic development of the jurisdiction receiving funding.

Each selected NASA EPSCoR flight project shall perform scientific and/or technical research in areas that support NASA’s strategic research and technology development priorities. Proposals shall emphasize how a flight in microgravity will influence/improve the results/quality of any ground-based research.

• Potential proposers must notify the Alaska NASA EPSCoR office of their intent to propose. Each jurisdiction can only submit one proposal per Appendix. The Alaska NASA EPSCoR program office will coordinate proposal submissions on a first come first serve basis.
• Proposals must be submitted by the Alaska NASA EPSCoR Director.
• Proposals can be for up to $100,000 for a period of performance not to exceed three years. Cost-sharing is not required.
• Solicitation Release: January 10, 2024 (Second Monday of January)
• Application Deadline: April 15, 2024

International Space Station (ISS) Flight Opportunity

NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM), in collaboration with the NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) Flight Opportunities (FO) program, solicits proposals for the fiscal year 2022 NASA Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) program. This solicitation is for current or previously funded EPSCoR projects or other research projects that are mature enough to design a research experiment or develop research experimental hardware to the point that it can be flown in a suborbital environment.

Suborbital flight can be used as a maturation step from ground-based research to downstream orbital flight research/demonstration or can be used for scientific research that can be accomplished in suborbital flight. Proposals shall state how suborbital flight will influence/mature the results/quality of any prior ground-based research or technology development and will provide insight into how the suborbital flight fits into a larger scientific research or space technology development context, as applicable.

Collaboration between EPSCoR and the STMD FO program will strengthen relationships between the respective communities and build experience and know-how in the EPSCoR community on the availability, usability, and value of U.S.-based commercial suborbital flight services. The partnership will engage the EPSCoR community with commercial suborbital flight providers, as well as open new paths for the jurisdictions to compete for and win larger spaceflight research projects.

• Potential proposers must notify the Alaska NASA EPSCoR office of their intent to propose. Each jurisdiction can only submit one proposal per Appendix. The Alaska NASA EPSCoR program office will coordinate proposal submissions on a first come first serve basis.
• Proposals must be submitted by the Alaska NASA EPSCoR Director.
• Proposals can be for up to $250,000 for a period of performance not to exceed three years. Cost-sharing is not required.
• Flight costs, including facilities and administrative (F&A) costs on the flight provider quote, are delimited by the maximum number of allowable flights.
• No solicitations for 2024. Expected FY25 solicitation release on January 25, 2025 (Second Monday of January)

*Prior* Suborbital Flight Opportunity