Federal grant programs / National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Aeronautics (43.002)

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$357 million
• Grant awards242
• Typical award$227,575
• Awarded in FY 2025$82.9 million
• Size rank451 of 1,823
• Type of assistanceCooperative agreements, cooperative agreements (discretionary grants), project grants, project grants (capacity building and complaint processing, training), project grants (contracts), project grants (cooperative agreements or contracts), project grants (cooperative agreements), project grants (discretionary), project grants (fellowships), project grants (for administration projects authorized under section, project grants (for collaborative design of curriculum, production of, project grants (for specified projects), project grants (including individual awards), project grants (including travel grants), project grants (rehabilitation of existing indoor and outdoor recreat, project grants (special), project grants (to capitalize loan funds), project grants (with formula distribution), dissemination of technical information

Key findings

• Annual funding rose from $63.4 million in fiscal 2021 to $82.9 million in fiscal 2025.
• It is the 451st largest of 1,823 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• The 20 largest recipients received 78% of the money.
• Awards went to recipients in 37 states and territories.

What the program funds

The NASA Mission draws support from NASA’s world- class capability for aeronautical research founded on a tradition of expertise in aeronautical engineering and core research areas from within the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD). ARMD maintains and advances U.S. global leadership in aviation through applications of new concepts and technologies pioneered by NASA and developed in partnership with U.S. Industry that lead to transformative improvements in mobility, efficiency, and safety.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open opportunities

No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.

Rules from the program listing

Who can apply

Categories of organizations that may be eligible for NASA grants and cooperative agreements include: • Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) – A two- or four-year university or college (including U.S. community colleges), public or private, accredited to confer degrees beyond that of the K-12 grade levels. 29 • Educational Institutions – Non-higher-education entities, such as K-12 education groups or institutions of informal education, are classified as Educational Institutions.2 • Non-profit Organization – An organization that: o Is operated primarily for scientific, engineering, educational, research, or similar purposes in the public interest; o Is not organized primarily for profit; o Uses net proceeds to maintain, improve, or expand the organization’s operations; and o Is not an IHE. Non-profit organizations generally exclude (i) colleges and universities; (ii) hospitals; and (iii) state, local, and Federally recognized Indian tribal governments. • For-profit Entity – An organization of any size that is organized primarily for profit. • Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) – FFRDCs are under a broad charter by a Government agency for performing, analyzing, or conducting research for the United States Government. NASA sponsors JPL as the Agency’s sole FFRDC, and JPL is not an eligible applicant to receive a NASA-funded grant or cooperative agreement as a recipient or subrecipient3 .

Continue reading on SAM.gov

What the money can and cannot pay for

Grant funding may be used to support basic research, educational outreach, and training opportunities related to space operations Applicants should carefully review the applicable Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for detailed information on allowable activities, program priorities, eligibility requirements, funding restrictions, and any limitations or conditions that may apply to the use of funds. Review funding opportunity announcement for additional information.;

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. A cost-sharing percentage is displayed to satisfy a system requirement that necessitates selection of a value. Cost-sharing requirements, including any applicable percentages, may apply under this listing and, if applicable, will be specified in the NOFO. Applicants should refer to the NOFO for detailed cost-sharing requirements.MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Deadlines

See the Funding Opportunity for specific deadline information.

Examples of funded projects

Fiscal Year2024: Title: Safe, Scalable, and Seamless SurfNav4UAS (SurfNav4UAS) - The goal of the SurfNav4UAS project is to address the technical navigation challenges associated with automatic surface operations of UAS. According to Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics, safety-assured automatic taxiing, together with automatic takeoff and landing, are three critical navigation gaps currently limiting the autonomous operation of large UAS in civil airspace. Addressing these technical challenges is necessary to enable the broad deployment of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) operations, including regional passenger and cargo transportation. To assess the problem, two different approaches are considered. One solution uses on-board sensors, including a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) antenna and receiver, an Inertial Navigation System (INS) and computer-vision sensors, including cameras and possibly a lidar. The other approach involves GNSS and INS sensors on board and GNSS aiding from a ground-base station. The challenge is to provide a navigation solution meeting the requirements in terms of integrity, accuracy, availability and continuity. 2 - Securing High-Density Urban Airspaces - established a security framework and algorithmic foundations to safeguard high- density urban airspace against cyberattacks.

Continue reading on SAM.gov

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Who usually wins

Nonprofits received 45% of the money, businesses 25% and state and local governments 16%.

By state

26 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.