Economical Access to Space, Year 1

The purpose of the project is to investigate air-launching a rocket booster from the bottom of a purpose-built, remotely-piloted, high-L/D glider. A towed glider behind a transport aircraft has the potential to enable much greater launch vehicle masses than a conventional carrying approach, or a directly towed approach.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 5) — 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.