NASA, Air Force Seek Space Processor for Future Missions

NASA and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory are asking industry for solutions to meet future high-performance space computing needs in the coming decades.

The Air Force Next Generation Space Processor Analysis Program is seeking two to four companies to perform a year-long evaluation of advanced space-based applications that would use spaceflight processors for the 2020 to 2030 time frame. The call for research and development proposals came in a broad agency announcement, which will involve a competitive selection process with plans to award a cost-reimbursement contract with approximately $2 million to be shared by the selected companies over one year.

Awardees will begin with three months of studies to determine and define the required computing performance for these advanced applications and to compare their findings with the government's preliminary requirements. During the following nine months, the selected companies will develop spaceflight processing architecture solutions to a set of NASA and Air Force requirements.

A chosen team may develop the spaceflight processor following the initial phase of research. Depending on the availability of funds, that contract award could be roughly $20 million over a four year period.