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Rocket Lab USA, Inc. Proposal to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Space Technology Announcement of Collaborative Opportunity (ACO)
Completed
TRL 4 (started at 4, targeting 5)
Description
Advanced re-entry and recovery technologies are critical for reliably transporting humans and payloads to and from space. Testing aims to mature these capabilities on a Rocket Lab vehicle. Its recoverable first stage may ultimately provide access to high-speed, high-temperature re-entry environments for testing. This has the potential to benefit NASA missions and the commercial space industry
Benefits
Details
| Technology area | Entry, Descent, and Landing > Landing > Touchdown Systems |
| Program | Flight Opportunities (FO) |
| Lead organization | Rocket Lab USA, Inc., Long Beach, CA |
| Start date | 2020-11-01 |
| End date | 2025-11-30 |
Project contacts
Listed on TechPort itself — the most direct way to ask about this specific project.
- Richard T French
- Bruce A Bond
How to get involved
This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.
None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.