Space Technology Research Institutes
NASA offers up to $13 million over five years for teams of at least three U.S. universities to advance rotating detonation rocket engine design; mandatory preliminary proposals are due November 3, 2026.
Funder: NASA Headquarters
Due Dates: November 3, 2026, 5 p.m. Eastern (Mandatory preliminary proposals) | January 21, 2027, 5 p.m. Eastern (Invited full proposals; target deadline) | October 15, 2026, 1–2 p.m. Eastern (Virtual town hall)
Funding Amounts: Up to $13 million total over a maximum of five years; one award planned
Summary: Supports university-led, multidisciplinary research to advance rotating detonation rocket engine design capabilities and system-level performance.
Key Information: Only U.S. institutions of higher education may lead proposals, with at least three participating U.S. institutions.
Description
NASA’s Space Technology Research Institutes (STRI26) supports institution-of-higher-education-led, early-stage, sustained, multidisciplinary space-technology research with transformative potential for future NASA and other civil-space applications. Administered by the Space Technology Research Grants (STRG) Program within the Research and Technology Mission Directorate, this solicitation is an appendix to SpaceTech REDDI 2026 and seeks research on technologies currently at low Technology Readiness Levels.
This competition exclusively addresses “Enabling Future Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE) Design Capabilities.” Its overarching goal is to advance RDRE system-level performance beyond the state of the art for traditional chemical rocket engines operating under the same system constraints. Teams must include multiple U.S. institutions of higher education; collaboration with industry and nonprofit entities is also permitted, subject to solicitation restrictions.
