Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN) FY2017 - 2020 Astrophysics Decadal Large Mission Concept, Origins Space Telescope (OST) System Studies | NNG17470002C

Opportunity Information: Apply for NNG17470002C

This funding opportunity is a NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN) supporting system studies for the Origins Space Telescope (OST), one of the Astrophysics Decadal Survey large mission concepts examined in the FY2017 to FY2020 timeframe. The purpose of the CAN is to fund research and development work that helps mature and evaluate the overall mission concept at a system level, meaning the integrated end-to-end design thinking that ties together science goals, required performance, spacecraft and payload architecture, key technologies, risk posture, cost and schedule credibility, and operational concepts. In practical terms, NASA is looking to enable focused studies that can inform how a future flagship-class observatory like OST could be designed, built, and operated, and what trades and technical approaches would best satisfy the mission concept objectives.

The award mechanism is a cooperative agreement rather than a standard grant. That matters because a cooperative agreement typically implies more substantial involvement by the federal agency during execution. In other words, NASA is not only providing funds; the work is expected to be coordinated with NASA and aligned with broader mission concept study activities, with NASA participating through technical collaboration, oversight, and integration of results into the overall concept development effort. The activity area is categorized as Science and Technology and other Research and Development, and the listing is associated with CFDA number 43.001, reflecting NASA R&D assistance programs.

Eligibility is broadly open (listed as unrestricted), and the synopsis explicitly notes that United States commercial businesses, colleges, and universities are eligible to apply. That makes this opportunity accessible to a wide range of performers, including aerospace companies, small businesses with relevant engineering or modeling capabilities, and academic teams that can contribute mission design, instrumentation concepts, science traceability, or enabling technology analyses. The intent is to leverage expertise across the U.S. community to address the technical and programmatic questions that must be resolved early for a credible large-mission concept.

The opportunity is identified by Funding Opportunity Number NNG17470002C under the title "Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN) FY2017 - 2020 Astrophysics Decadal Large Mission Concept, Origins Space Telescope (OST) System Studies." It was posted on 2017-01-26 with an original application closing date of 2017-03-01. The anticipated award size information in the source data includes an award ceiling of $100,000. While the summary data field for expected number of awards is not populated in the provided excerpt, the structure of a CAN of this type commonly supports one or more targeted awards to address specific system study tasks, trade studies, or analyses that NASA wants completed on a defined schedule.

Because the notice references attachments (attachments #1 and #2), the full technical scope, required deliverables, proposal content requirements, and evaluation criteria are likely detailed there. For a system studies CAN tied to a decadal large mission concept, those attachments typically spell out the kinds of study products NASA expects, such as architecture and design trade results, mission and instrument performance modeling, requirements flow-down and traceability to science objectives, technology gap identification and maturation plans, cost and schedule estimation assumptions, risk and mitigation analyses, and interfaces or integration concepts. They may also define how awardees will coordinate with NASA-led teams, what reporting cadence is required, and what data products must be delivered in formats suitable for incorporation into a larger mission concept report.

Overall, the opportunity is best understood as a targeted NASA funding call to strengthen the technical foundation of the Origins Space Telescope concept by paying teams to perform credible, integrated system-level studies. The goal is to reduce uncertainty, illuminate design choices and their consequences, and provide the kind of defensible engineering and programmatic groundwork that a future decadal survey and NASA decision-makers would need when comparing and prioritizing flagship astrophysics mission concepts.

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN) FY2017 - 2020 Astrophysics Decadal Large Mission Concept, Origins Space Telescope (OST) System Studies" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 43.001.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-01-26.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-03-01. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $100,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

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