ULTRA-HIGH BYPASS (UHB) ADVANCED NACELLE TECHNOLOGIES FLIGHT DEMONSTRATION | NNL16ZD3001C

FAQs: NASA Advanced Nacelle Technologies Flight Demonstration (Cooperative Agreement Notice NNL16ZD3001C)

1) What is NASA funding through this opportunity?

NASA is seeking a partner to carry out a flight demonstration of advanced nacelle technologies for ultra-high bypass (UHB) commercial jet engines. The goal is to move beyond paper studies and ground-only testing by designing, building, integrating, and flying an advanced, integrated nacelle system under real flight conditions.

2) What is the official solicitation identifier?

The solicitation is identified as Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN) NNL16ZD3001C.

3) Which NASA organization is sponsoring this work?

The opportunity is issued by NASA Headquarters under the Aeronautics Mission Directorate (ARMD), through the Integrated Aviation Systems Program (IASP) and its Flight Demonstrations and Capabilities (FDC) project.

4) What is the main purpose of the flight demonstration?

The purpose is to demonstrate a suite of nacelle improvements as a single, integrated structure and to prove performance in flight conditions on a commercial-transport-class, high bypass ratio engine. NASA is emphasizing a full-system demonstration to understand interactions and tradeoffs across aerodynamic performance, weight, acoustic performance, and installation constraints.

5) What kinds of technologies are in scope?

The solicitation focuses on advanced nacelle technologies for UHB commercial jet engines. The technologies of interest are those that, when integrated into one nacelle architecture (rather than treated as isolated upgrades), can deliver measurable improvements in aerodynamic performance while also reducing nacelle weight and community/aircraft noise.

6) What does NASA mean by an "integrated nacelle system"?

NASA is looking for multiple nacelle improvements to be combined into a single nacelle architecture and demonstrated together. The emphasis is on showing how the technologies work as an integrated structure and how they affect each other in a realistic, flight-ready configuration.

7) What end-to-end activities is the selected awardee expected to perform?

The selected partner is expected to handle the full effort required for a flight demonstration, including: designing advanced nacelle concepts, fabricating hardware, performing appropriate testing, installing and integrating the nacelle system with an engine/aircraft testbed, and conducting the flight demonstration.

8) Is this limited to studies, or does it require hardware and flight testing?

It requires hardware and flight testing. The opportunity is explicitly positioned to go beyond paper studies and ground-only tests by funding a real-world, integrated nacelle system that can be proven in flight conditions.

9) What class of engine or platform is the demonstration intended for?

The flight demonstration is intended for a commercial-transport-class, high bypass ratio engine. The overall focus is on UHB commercial jet engine nacelle technologies.

10) What outcomes is NASA aiming to validate in flight?

The stated outcomes center on measurable improvements in aerodynamic performance, reductions in overall nacelle weight, and reductions in community/aircraft noise, demonstrated in an integrated configuration under flight conditions.

11) Why is NASA emphasizing tradeoffs like drag, weight, noise, and installation constraints?

Because integrating multiple technologies into one nacelle can create interactions and compromises. NASA is signaling that it wants to understand system-level performance, including how gains in one area may impact other areas when the nacelle is designed as a complete, flight-ready structure.

12) What type of funding instrument is being used?

This is a discretionary government funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement rather than a standard procurement contract.

13) What does a cooperative agreement imply about NASA's role during the project?

The summary indicates that NASA expects substantial involvement during the project, such as collaborative technical coordination, insight into design and test decisions, and shared planning around flight demonstration objectives and data collection.

14) What is the activity category for this opportunity?

The activity category is listed as science and technology and other research and development.

15) What CFDA number is associated with this opportunity?

The CFDA number associated with the opportunity is 43.002.

16) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning the competition is broadly open rather than limited to a specific class of applicants.

17) Where was the solicitation posted and how are proposals submitted?

The solicitation was made available through NSPIRES, NASA's system for releasing research announcements and receiving proposals.

18) What are the key dates listed for the opportunity?

The provided information lists a creation date of July 6, 2016 and an original closing date of August 30, 2016.

19) Does the provided summary list an award ceiling or the expected number of awards?

No. The summary fields described do not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards.

20) What does the summary suggest about the likely scale of the award?

While no ceiling is provided, the framing suggests NASA intended to make at least one significant award capable of supporting a full design-build-test-fly demonstration campaign.

21) What is the overall strategic aim of this opportunity?

The opportunity is aimed at accelerating the maturity of UHB nacelle technologies by proving an integrated, flight-ready configuration that can support better fuel efficiency and lower noise for future commercial transports through aerodynamic and structural nacelle advancements.