Frequently asked questions

The NASA TechLeap Prize is a series of challenges designed to advance space technologies through rapid testing with industry flight providers. Each challenge addresses specific technology priorities for NASA and the nation. Participants in these challenges complete a submission to develop a specific technology, competing for awards to build a payload for flight. As an added incentive for TechLeap challenges, NASA intends to offer an opportunity for winners to flight test their solutions.

NASA intends to offer an opportunity for a flight test aboard a hosted orbital vehicle at no additional cost to the Phase 3 winner(s). Applicants should focus on the requirements for a flight test and not a particular flight provider. Refer to the technical guidelines for additional details about the expected flight environment and payload requirements.

You can find technologies previously selected for flight testing through NASA’s Flight Opportunities program. Many PIs and teams are willing to talk about their experiences with potential applicants. You can also find more information and listen to recorded webinar sessions with PIs on the Flight Opportunities Community of Practice web page.

NASA offers a range of funding opportunities. Please visit NASA’s Flight Opportunities website to learn more about ongoing and future funding opportunities.

The NASA TechLeap Prize challenges are open competitions designed to discover promising technologies for space exploration, discovery, and the expansion of space commerce. NASA encourages participation from individuals, teams, and organizations, including those who may not have previously engaged in other NASA funding opportunities. 

NASA welcomes submissions from individuals, teams, and organizations or entities that have a recognized legal existence and structure under applicable law (state, federal, or country) and that are in good standing in the jurisdiction under which they are organized with the following restrictions: 

• Individuals must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the United States and be 18 years of age or older. 
• Organizations must be an entity incorporated in and maintaining a primary place of business in the United States. 
• Teams must be composed of otherwise eligible individuals or organizations and led by a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the United States who is 18 years of age or older. 
• For-profit and nonprofit organizations may enter provided that they meet eligibility requirements, including having a primary place of business in the U.S. 

Applicants may partner with other organizations on their submission but all applicants must meet the eligibility rules. Refer to the rules, terms, and conditions for a complete set of eligibility requirements.

If you are a past grantee of the SBIR program, you may complete a submission. However, if you or your employer is receiving U.S. government funding for similar projects in which you are developing a flight-ready payload as part of your SBIR award, you or your employer are not eligible for an award under this challenge. In other words, applicants cannot receive U.S. government funding for the same scope of work more than once.

Enhancements, improvements, and other similar activities for the previously funded technology could be eligible for this challenge. Please contact us if you need help determining your eligibility.

If you or your employer already receive U.S. government funding to develop the same or similar flight-ready payload as you are proposing as part of this challenge, you may not be eligible. Applicants cannot receive U.S. government funding for the same scope of work more than once.

Additionally, if your solution was developed under a government contract, grant, or cooperative agreement, the U.S. government may hold intellectual property rights to it, which may also affect eligibility. Please contact us if you need help determining your eligibility.

Employees of FFRDCs may participate so long as they are not acting within the scope of their position and do not rely on any facilities, access, personnel, knowledge, or other resources that are available to them as a result of their employment except for those resources made available to all other applicants on an equal basis.

Additionally, the U.S. government may have intellectual property rights to your solution if your solution was made under a government contract, grant, or cooperative agreement. Under such conditions, you may not be eligible for an award. Please contact us if you need help determining your eligibility.

Each eligible lead applicant may complete one submission. A lead applicant may serve as a partner on a submission led by another eligible lead applicant provided that each submission proposes a separate and distinct solution. Regional or location-specific branches of larger organizations, as well as departments, schools, and nonprofits within or based in a college/university, can each register and complete separately as the lead applicant on one submission provided that each of the proposed solutions is separate and distinct. If an organization is the lead applicant, there should be minimal overlap in team members. 

Yes, you are welcome to secure additional funding and resources to develop your solution. If you have other investors and funders secured, please list sources of funding under budget narrative on the submission form.

If you need assistance completing the registration and/or submission process, please contact us. We encourage people with disabilities to apply to the Robotically Manipulated Payload Challenge. We provide accommodations as needed.

This will depend on the specifics of the funding. Please email us at [email protected] with additional details so that we can provide an appropriate answer for your specific situation.

Up to three winners will have the opportunity to receive up to $500,000 each as well as an opportunity for a flight test. 

Upon selection, each of the winners will receive $200,000. During Phases 2 and 3, winners will have the opportunity to compete for additional awards of $200,000 (Phase 2) and $100,000 (Phase 3) each. Field judges will conduct site visits to evaluate the progress each winner has made and determine their eligibility to receive the prize for that phase. 

NASA intends to offer an opportunity for a flight test aboard a hosted orbital spacecraft at no additional cost to the Phase 3 winner(s).

Please note that this is a prize competition and not a grant, so prize funds will be distributed directly to the winner and may be used however the winner sees fit, provided that eligibility requirements are met throughout all phases. 

Prize funds will be awarded and winners will move on to the next phase of the challenge as outlined under the evaluation criteria. To participate in the flight test opportunity, a Space Act Agreement will be executed with each winner. This agreement will lay out the responsibilities of each party, but it does not cover any exchange of funds — again, this is handled via a prize distribution directly to the winner.

It is up to each applicant to determine an appropriate budget for the proposed solution, and prize funds can be used however the winners see fit. You may include any cost categories, including contingencies for risk mitigation, that support the development of your technology and payload. You are welcome to organize this by phases. 

Although the total possible prize amount is up to $500,000, the amount provided in this budget may be more than, less than, or equal to that value. Including the budget in the submission is to determine if the proposed project plan and budget are reasonable. 

NASA intends to provide the opportunity for a flight test at no additional cost to Phase 3 winner(s); your budget should exclude flight test costs. Please note, however, that NASA’s flight test budget is limited. A selected payload that requires an unusually expensive flight may not ultimately be flown.

To participate in the NASA TechLeap Prize, you must demonstrate that you have at least $250,000 liability insurance coverage. You will be asked to provide proof of your insurance coverage or otherwise demonstrate financial responsibility for that amount at the time you are selected as a potential winner. See the insurance guidelines for additional details about this requirement.

While the “payload demonstration title” and “payload demonstration description” may be published on this website and/or the NASA website, the ownership and use of intellectual property arising from this challenge remains with you. 

NASA may choose to negotiate for a license to use the solutions developed as a result of this challenge.

The submission will be shared with the NASA TechLeap Prize team, evaluation panel judges, and the selection committee during the evaluation process. While the NASA TechLeap Prize team and evaluators will treat all submissions with discretion, you may choose to exclude any confidential and/or sensitive information.

Additionally, parts of your submission, such as the “payload demonstration title” and “payload demonstration description,” may be published on this website and/or the NASA website. Please consider this while writing your response.

To participate in the Robotically Manipulated Payload Challenge, you must first register no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on July 29, 2026. Once you are registered, submissions are due no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on August 12, 2026. Please review the submission form to better understand the requirements, as well as the evaluation criteria to learn more about what constitutes a strong submission.

During evaluation panel review, each valid submission will receive scores and comments from a panel of expert judges. Judges will use a scoring rubric to evaluate their assigned submissions. All scores are normalized to ensure fairness. Please review the evaluation criteria to learn more about what constitutes a strong submission and the fairness page to understand how scores are normalized.

Top-scoring submissions will move to the selection committee, which will select up to three winners based on evaluation panel rank order, the scoring rubric, and the variety of solutions. Winners will then progress through Design Finalization (Phase 2) and Payload Build (Phase 3), with field judges conducting site visits to score their progress at each phase. See “What can we receive?” for award amounts and flight test details

Once you have registered, the challenge team will send important notifications throughout the competition to the email address associated with your account. 

To ensure these messages are received promptly: 

1. Add [email protected] to your contacts and whitelist the email address. 
2. Update your registration form right away if one of your contacts changes. If you need to make a contact change after the submission window has closed, please email [email protected], and we will assist you. 

You may also sign up for the Flight Opportunities newsletter to receive announcements and information on upcoming opportunities.

Please email [email protected] with your questions, and a member of the NASA TechLeap Prize team will respond as quickly as possible during regular business hours. Please note that partnering organizations are unable to respond directly to inquiries about this challenge from potential applicants.

This challenge is separate from NASA’s Space Roboticist Challenge.

Yes, you can complete a submission for both challenges if you meet the eligibility requirements.

• The Space Roboticist Challenge seeks experiments using the FFR robotic arm as launched without the opportunity to add hardware to the flight system. Phase 1 requires participants who meet eligibility requirements to submit a white paper proposing a short, focused experiment using the FFR robotic arm. Up to 15 teams advance to Phase 2, where they will be invited to conduct simulation and validation testing, including visits to Goddard Space Flight Center. Those who pass validation may receive an offer of on-orbit experiment time. There is no monetary prize. The intended outcome of this challenge is to invite roboticists to test software and operations experiments that do not include a payload.
• The Robotically Manipulated Payload Challenge seeks payloads that can be manipulated using the FFR robotic arm. Phase 1 requires applicants to complete a submission, including written responses and a video pitch, describing the payload. A panel of expert judges scores each submission, and a selection committee selects up to three winners. Each winner will receive $200,000 and an invitation to advance to Phase 2. In Phase 2, winners will have three months to finalize their designs and begin building their payloads for the opportunity to receive an additional award of $200,000 each. Phase 2 winners will be invited to complete their payloads over the five-month final phase, with support from NASA subject matter experts. Teams that successfully complete Phase 3 will receive $100,000 each. In addition, NASA intends to offer each Phase 3 winner an opportunity for a flight test aboard a hosted orbital spacecraft at no additional cost.

These two challenges also have different timelines and deadlines. Please visit the respective challenge pages for the most accurate information.

Although the two challenges are related to FFR, their objectives are different. The Space Roboticist Challenge seeks to test experiments that use the FFR robotic arm that do not include a payload, and the Robotically Manipulated Payload Challenge seeks payloads that can be manipulated using the FFR robotic arm. While ideas could be similar, each challenge will likely necessitate a unique submission.

Applicants should assume a LEO polar rideshare mission orbit of 500–600 km altitude, with mean local time free to vary until late in the schedule. The nominal spacecraft orientation is inertial sun pointing with the payload deck oriented in the anti-sun direction. The default state of the spacecraft is sun tracking with the payload fully shaded by the bus, only slewing for ground station passes.

The planned orbit is a LEO polar orbit. Specifics on the length of mission will be shared with winning teams at the beginning of Phase 2.

The Technical Guidelines describe the available power at each interface.

Applicants are encouraged to plan for the environments that their payload will be exposed to. Individual payloads may be tested to ensure survival on orbit. System-level environmental testing is anticipated to be conducted by Motiv at no additional cost to payloads with the intention of meeting launch provider requirements. If a team wants to ensure their payload will survive that system-level testing and subsequent launch, payload-level testing should be considered.

Payloads will be disposed of via atmospheric reentry.

The docking plate indicated in that figure is the passive half of the free-flyer capture system that the future FFR visiting vehicle (which will deliver the TechLeap payloads) will dock to.

The objective of the challenge is to do something with the payload. The interfaces are provided as a means of installing the payload as required for the payload’s specific experiment. Simply moving the payload to the platform does not qualify for the challenge.

NASA’s STMD has published a FY26 Civil Space Shortfall Prioritization list. This is the same prioritization the judges will have access to and will use to help assess the impact of each application. While there is not a preference for a specific shortfall or gap, the more ways you can connect your technology to future mission needs, the stronger your application will be.

All details on how applications will be assessed are included in the evaluation criteria. Beyond ensuring that you address the objective of the challenge, there are no preferred operational target scenarios.

All operations will be conducted asynchronously. Assume fully automated/scripted operations with communications limited to state-of-health telemetry (at most) during robotic operations. Full engineering telemetry and video will be downlinked between robotic operations as required.

There are no fiducial or sensor requirements for the payload. FFR does not require specific standardized marker patterns for visual inspection or relative pose estimation.

Applicants can determine the best way to achieve this. The challenge does not have a specific requirement for how this is done.

There are many published NASA procedures and standards for lifecycle reviews and systems engineering. There are no requirements levied from those documents on Flight Readiness Reviews for this challenge, but they can serve as a reference for best practices.

Challenge winners will receive the platform interface from NASA after selection based on their preference and NASA’s review of their proposal and technology. Challenge winners will also receive the interface to the robotic arm. For more detailed diagrams and CAD models of the robotic arm and interfaces, please refer to the technical overview document on the TechLeap website.

The interfaces have an active half, the part that mechanically engages and disengages, and a passive half, the feature that the active half engages with. Once mated, these interfaces enable mechanical support, power, and data to the payload.

The payload halves of the Crosslink and FuseBlox interfaces are active (the FFR deck half is passive). The iSSI interface is androgynous, so the payload half can be either active or passive. NASA will provide the winners with the payload half of the mating interface to be integrated into the payload.

Yes, you may partner and collaborate with interface vendors. As part of the application, you will be asked to describe your team and identify who owns the intellectual property of your proposed payload. Please be sure to detail any partnerships in your application. Please note that while every effort will be made to accommodate preferred interfaces, there is no guarantee. A payload design that can utilize any of the available interfaces may be better situated to deconflict with other potential payloads.

In addition to providing one of the three deck interfaces, NASA will provide the passive half of the Motiv Crosslink robotic arm interface. The payload will need to interface with the platform, as well as be manipulated via the robotic arm interface. Applicants are encouraged to be creative with their solutions.

Compliance with published interface standards, such as those at satelliteconfers.org, is highly recommended. However, we recognize that not all interfaces have such standards.

We assume the payload will launch with the same interface as the one used to attach it to the FFR deck. There may be some exceptions to this assumption (for example, use of additional launch locks if required), which can be worked out during the design phase.

Yes. The payload may be any shape/orientation provided it fits within the defined envelope.

Applicants should use their best efforts to analyze robotic arm reach to accomplish their desired tasks. Phase 2 will include direct interaction between payload providers and NASA SMEs to make sure the required robotic arm trajectories are feasible.

Payloads may utilize only a single platform interface and may have separable interfaces within the payload, but they must fit within one of the defined volumes.

The robotic arm may only interface through the standardized interface. Payloads with separable interfaces as part of the payload are acceptable, but applicants must minimize risk of inadvertent release/disengagement of that interface.