Commercial Space Transportation
Grants Program
Open Period
Federal Register Notice Posted – Friday, March 18, 2011
Questions and Answers
** New Questions and Answers are in RED **
Monday, March 21, 2011:
1. In the notice in the Federal Register, the year 2010 appears. Is this old
language? Are you accepting application for the new grants.
A. The link provided with the question was from the AST website and was
for the FY 2010 program, from the Federal Register Notice in 2010. A
new Federal Register Notice was published on Friday, March 18, 2011.
If the latest notice is not up on the AST website yet, it will be shortly,
so please check back. This notice can always be accessed at the
Federal Register website.
B. The open period to submit applications has started. The schedule is
located in the latest Federal Register Notice.
C. Please note in the latest Federal Register Notice the situation regarding
funding, related to Congressional appropriation.
2. We wish to clarify an issue with your requirements. It is stated that “project
financing must include a private component of at least 10% of the total
project cost.” As we are private individuals, can this component be supplied
as “in-kind” funding, donating an appropriate portion of our labor?
A. Grants, under this program, are awarded to public agencies who have
submitted, met the requirements, and them been selected for an
award. As a private company or as private individuals, this does not
meet the eligibility as a public agency.
B. Yes, there is a requirement that a minimum of 10% of the total cost of
the project must come from private funding. “In-Kind” funding is
acceptable, provided that it is reasonable and is assessed at fair
market value for the work.
3. How much funding is being allocated to the Commercial Space Transportation
Grants Program for FY 2011?
A. At this time, it is not clear what that amount, if any, will be. Please
ready the Federal Register Notice regarding this. We are trying to be
proactive so that we can disperse funds in a timely and efficient
manner, should there be an appropriation. It is our hope that this will
not deter applicants.
4. Were there grant awards given last year, and if so to whom and how much?
A. Yes, there were awards given last year. A total of $500,000 was
allocated for Commercial Space Transportation Grants, and this was
awarded to four different projects:
i. New Mexico Space Port Authority – Automated Weather
Observing System - $43,000
ii. Alaska Aerospace Corporation – Rocket Motor Storage Facility $227,195
iii. Jacksonville Aviation Authority – Spaceport Master Plan $104,805
iv. East Kern Airport District – Emergency Vehicle - $125,000
Tuesday, March 22, 2011:
1. According to the Federal Register Notice, funding is available for “Technical
and Environmental Studies.” Our read of this is that a broad definition of
“technical” applies, in that developing an operational roadmap applying to a
federal capability to address on-orbit emergencies would qualify for
consideration. Would this be an accurate interpretation, or is this definition
more restricted?
A. The Commercial Space Transportation Grants Program is intended for
infrastructure projects. Those projects related to on-orbit emergencies
do not qualify as infrastructure projects. Looking at the list of
awardees from last year, there is a “technical study” related to
infrastructure that did receive funding. Although the scope of
“technical” is broad, it must still fit within the infrastructure intent.
B. Additionally, the public agency receiving the grant must have the legal
authority to engage in the project. At this time, there are no public
agencies with this legal authority.
2. We are faced with the interesting challenge that we reside in a state without
a significant public aerospace presence (such as spaceports or NASA centers).
Our first thoughts include partnerships with Agencies and
universities; we also are considering state offices from larger federal
agencies. Would the latter approach be within the guidelines? Also, we
would be interested if you could provide a list of example agencies who you
typically see partnering with these grants to help us find additional contacts.
A. The intent for the Commercial Space Transportation Grants Program is
to provide grant awards to public agencies authorized by States to
support state and local efforts, not federal efforts.
B. In an effort to remain consistent, equitable, and fair, the FAA/AST
cannot provide information related to partnerships and agencies for
grants. There are spaceports that are currently licensed with the
FAA/AST and that information is public knowledge. There are also
forums in which non-licensed public entities discuss their strong desire
to be involved in and contribute to the infrastructure of the
Commercial Space Transportation industry. Establishing those
connections would be up to individual organizations, if interested.
3. How would you prefer to establish fair-market value: simply using local
averages based on degrees and experience, or is there a preferred alternative
method?
A. Establishing fair-market value would be dependent on the Mean
Statistical Area. Labor rates, for example, would be different in one
are of the country than they would be in another area of the country.
Taking into account education and experience are also important
factors in determining fair-market value.
Thursday, March 31, 2011:
1. In Title 49 §70303. Grant Applications:
(c)(2) The Secretary of Transportation shall consult with the Secretary of
Defense, the Administrator of the NASA, and the heads of other appropriated
agencies of the government about paragraph (1)(A) and (F) in this section.
(c)(3) If the application proposes to use Government property, the specific
consent of the head of the appropriate agency has been obtained;
In the case of would that be ?
We realize that these codes were written before State governments became
integrally involved, but now that we have reached the age of State
involvement, who is the ‘head of the appropriate agency’ in the context of the
State agencies acting as the facilitator
A. If the application proposes to use Government property, as state, the
specific consent of the head of the agency having the authority of the
property is required.
Federal Government Property: For DOD property, such as a military
installation, the appropriate Service Secretary (Secretary of the Air
Force, Secretary of the Army, Secretary of the Navy) would need to
approve. For NASA property, the NASA Administrator would need to
approve. Similar level of approval would be required for all other
Federal agencies.
State Government Property: Similar levels within the State
Government would have to approve the use of State property. If the
public agency applying for the grant has jurisdiction over the property,
then the approval is not required. However, if the project imposes on
other property for which another State agency has jurisdiction,
approval from that State agency would be required.
Thursday, April 8, 2011:
1. How much funding will be available in FY 2011 for the Commercial Space
Transportation Grants Program?
A. From the Federal Register Notice:
It must be noted that with the FY 2011 Congressional appropriation
not yet enacted, the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation
(AST) does not currently have funding for the Commercial Space
Transportation Grants Program. Should there be an appropriation for
the Commercial Space Transportation Grants Program; the FAA/AST
intends to swiftly execute grant awards within FY 2011. To facilitate
this, the FAA/AST is requesting grant applications at this time. The
FAA/AST intends to receive, process, and evaluate the applications in a
timely manner, and in accordance with the notional schedule listed
below, so should there be an appropriation, the recipients will already
be selected and the awards can be made within FY 2011. There
remains the possibility that no funds will be appropriated in FY 2011
for the Commercial Space Transportation Grants Program. If no funds
are appropriated, no grant applications submitted in response to this
Notice will be approved and funded.
Thursday, April 21, 2011:
1. Could you please confirm that the 2011 Federal Budget just passed continues
to fund the CST Grant for FY2011, as described in FR-2011-03-18 Doc.20116325?
A. With the Federal Budget just being passed, not all of the funding has
made the way through the Department of Transportation, to the
Federal Aviation Administration, to the Commercial Space
Transportation Line of Business. It is our intention that there will be
funding available for the Commercial Space Transportation Grants
Program, however the amount is still yet to be determined. Once that
is determined, we will post it on our website.
2. When are you likely to know how much (if any) funding will be allocated by
the Federal Government to support this
A. With the budget agreed to at the top level, it does take time to filter
down. We are hoping to know how much we will have allocated for
the Grants Program very soon. There is no specific date right now, but
we do anticipate there to be funds allocated. Once that has been
determined, the information will be posted soonest – probably through
the website to keep things fair to all who wish to apply.
3. In researching the FAA site, the grant information is still using a 2010
deadline date. Is this the correct procedure or is there updated 2011
information somewhere?
A. Below is the website for the Office of Commercial Space Transportation
Grants Program. On this site is the 18 march 2011 Federal Register
Notice link. Within this Notice is the deadline for submissions – Friday,
13 May 2011, 1200 (noon) Eastern Time. There is also an Application
Checklist on this page.
http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/grants_program/
B. If you go to the Commercial Space page (the top link on the menu on
the left), under News and Announcements, there is a “Questions and
Answers” page that gets updated as questions come in.
4. In regard to Line 13 – Contingencies, on SF 424-C, what is the percentage
that we can use for this line? In looking at the instruction, it says to “consult
the Federal agency for the percentage of the estimate construction cost to
use.”
A. SF 424-C is to be used for construction projects. SF 424-A is to be
used for non-construction projects.
B. Please use 10% as the percentage. For Line 13, this is 10% of the
value in Line 12.
5. Can funding for this program be applied to support the environmental
assessment studies required to obtain a Commercial Spaceport License from
the FAA ?
If the answer to this is “Yes” and given that such studies normally take two or
more years to complete, is it possible to apply for continued matching federal
funds from the CSTGP in subsequent years (assuming you are awarded a
CSTGP grant for these studies in year 1), or should we apply for all Federal
matching funds required to support all of these studies “up front” (in our
initial grant application)?
A. Yes, per the Federal Register Notice, “To meet the intent of the
program, development projects eligible for funding include: 1.
Technical and environmental studies; or…” Environmental assessment
studies do fall under the scope of the intent for this grant program.
B. An applicant could do either.
i. If the applicant would like to apply for an environmental study
project, they may apply for the total funds up front. If awarded a
grant, please keep in mind that the funds are obligated in the
year they are appropriated, and there is a timeline on spending
those funds. If the study goes beyond the timeline for spending
those funds, the funds do expire. Also, those funds must be
matched in accordance with the requirements, as well as terms
and conditions, of the award.
ii. If there are natural break points in the overall study, the applicant
could apply for sections of the environmental study project each
year. A few notes on this: 1) This is predicated on being
awarded each year for the grant – which is not guaranteed; 2) If
the section for which the grant was awarded is complete and
there are funds remaining on the award, the remaining funds
CANNOT be spent to fund other parts of the overall study that
were not included in the project submission for the section that
was completed – the grant funds what was proposed; and 3)
match must be obtained for each grant award – this is not a
cumulative process.
Monday, April 24, 2011:
1. Does development of innovative methods for infrastructure condition
monitoring fit into the topic of commercial space transportation infrastructure
development of the Commercial Space Transportation Grants Program? We
do not propose to build infrastructure, but develop innovative methods to
monitor condition of the infrastructure to ensure its safety and continuous
use.
A. The Commercial Space transportation Grants Program is not an
academic grant program. This program is looking for practical
infrastructure and building projects. Studies that would be included in
this grant program are related to environmental aspects (studies to
enable construction), architectural and engineering design work, and
site master plans. What is proposed in the question is not an actual
component of an operational spaceport, and is in-line with theoretical
concepts as opposed to implementation for infrastructure.
B. Our office does have grant work in the Research and Development
arena, through the AST Centers of Excellence. If you would like more
information on that, please contact Ken Davidian at 202-267-7214.
2. Where can I find a document which details preparation of the proposal for
the Commercial Space Transportation Grants Program?
A. Information on the Commercial Space Transportation Grants Program
can be found at the AST website:
http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/
B. In the “News and Announcements” section, there is information
related to the Federal Register Notice that came out on 18 March
2011. In the Federal Register Notice, it specifically calls out the intent
of this program is for infrastructure. The “Questions and Answers” link
is also on this page and is updated when new questions come in. If
you go to the Commercial Space Transportation Grants Program
website, there is more information.
3. What is the period of performance?
A. The funding is an annual appropriation. The requestor may propose a
period of performance consistent with the project scope and schedule.
4. What is allowable and typical budgets for a project involving a university and
privately owned company?
A. Per the Federal Register Notice, a “public agency” has to be the
requestor for the grant award. The grant itself is a matching grant; if
awarded, the Federal Government will provide no more than 50%. In
addition, at least 50% of the total project funding must come from the
awardee, and there is a requirement that 10% of the total project
funding must come from private sources.
5. Are there items that are not allowed on the budget, i.e. equipment, student
salaries, faculty salaries, etc.?
A. This is not an academic grant.
Thursday, May 5, 2011:
1. If the project we would like to submit an application for requires an
environmental review (EA, EIS), can we request assistance in funding that
environmental review along with our project?
A. No. The environmental review process must be complete prior to
approval of grant funding for a project, unless the project is an
environmental study.
B. The applicant could submit for the environmental study in one grant
cycle, and then submit for the project in the subsequent grant cycle.
The results from the environmental study could then be used as the
basis for meeting the environmental requirements for the project.
