The NASA SBIR and STTR programs fund the research, development, and demonstration of innovative technologies that fulfill NASA needs as described in the annual Solicitations and have significant potential for successful commercialization. If you are a small business concern (SBC) with 500 or fewer employees or a non-profit RI such as a university or a research laboratory with ties to an SBC, then NASA encourages you to learn more about the SBIR and STTR programs as a potential source of seed funding for the development of your innovations.
The SBIR and STTR programs have 3 phases:
The SBIR and STTR Phase I contracts last for 6 months with a maximum funding of $125,000, and Phase II contracts last for 24 months with a maximum funding of $750,000 - $1.5 million.
Opportunity for Continued Technology Development Post-Phase II:
The NASA SBIR/STTR Program currently has in place two initiatives for supporting its small business partners past the basic Phase I and Phase II elements of the program that emphasize opportunities for commercialization. Specifically, the NASA SBIR/STTR Program has the Phase II Enhancement (Phase II-E) and Phase II eXpanded (Phase II-X) contract options.
Please review the links below to obtain more information on the SBIR/STTR programs.
Provides an overview of the SBIR and STTR programs as implemented by NASA
Provides access to the annual SBIR/STTR Solicitations containing detailed information on the program eligibility requirements, proposal instructions and research topics and subtopics
Schedule and links for the SBIR/STTR solicitations and selection announcements
Federal and non-Federal sources of assistance for small business
Search our complete archive of awarded project abstracts to learn about what NASA has funded
Still have questions? Visit the program FAQs
","parentProgram":{"ableToSelect":false,"isActive":true,"description":"Catalyst is a portfolio of early stage programs that specialize in different innovation constituencies and mechanisms to push the state of the art in aerospace technology development","programId":92327,"responsibleMd":{"canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"","organizationTypePretty":""},"title":"Catalyst","manageGaps":false,"acronymOrTitle":"Catalyst"},"parentProgramId":92327,"programId":73,"responsibleMd":{"organizationId":4875,"organizationName":"Space Technology Mission Directorate","acronym":"STMD","organizationType":"NASA_Mission_Directorate","canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"","organizationTypePretty":"NASA Mission Directorate"},"responsibleMdOffice":4875,"stockImageFileId":36648,"title":"Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer","manageGaps":false,"acronymOrTitle":"SBIR/STTR"},"description":"The Multi-specimen Variable-G Facility (MVF) is a single locker sized centrifuge facility for life and microgravity sciences research on the International Space Station. The MVF is a rear breather EXPRESS Rack payload that leverages many of the existing subsystems of flight proven (STS-108) Avian Development Facility (ADF) thereby reducing costs and time to flight for new scientific capability. Two centrifuge rotor platforms are capable of applying 0–2 g's to the modular specimen containers which can be modified to accommodate a wide variety of experiment samples. Curved cell culture specimen containers are designed to maintain a constant radius (within ? 1 mm) without inertial-gradient shearing or significant Coriolis acceleration. Each rotor can accommodate 10 generic modular experiment specimen holders which can be accessed in real-time on-orbit any time during an experiment. The centrifuge platforms include an active balancing system to ensure balanced rotation when the experiment sample modules contain slightly variable mass. The MVF will control g-levels, temperature, humidity, ethylene, CO2 and other gases, and provides video observation capability with its removable modular subsystem allowing on-orbit cleaning and/or replacement. The potential uses of the MVF are numerous, such as cell culture, aquatics, plants, algae, and invertebrate organisms. The modular multi-specimen holder can be utilized as a prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell culture vessel. It can be used to contain aquatic organisms such as Zebra fish, Medaka, tadpoles, and even developing amphibian eggs. Seedlings, small adult plants (Arabadopsis), and even fern spores could be located within the specimen holder. Other possibilities include Algae (Chara) and fungi (S. cerevisiae). During the Phase II project, Techshot will complete the MVF design, fabricate a flight-like prototype, and test the hardware by performing selected biological experiments to demonstrate its scientific utility.
","benefits":"MVF offers innovative new technology needed for on-orbit processing, as well as the chance to leverage existing ISS facilities for new scientific payloads. This is expected to lead to many new potential NASA commercial applications and opportunities. In particular, Techshot expects to commercialize the MVF by incorporating it into the company's spaceflight service program that it offers to NASA mission programs, as well as to other Government agencies, including investigators funded by the National Institute of Health's Biomed-ISS program. In combination with the long list of other proven flight hardware developed by Techshot, MVF unique centrifuge capability is expected to greatly expand the company's competitive position and range of services. The unique advantage of the MVF is its capability to provide synchronous controls in the same environment as the test specimens, while permitting on-orbit access to the specimens, which provides the opportunity to conduct real-time analysis on the experimental samples. Furthermore, on-orbit specimen access reduces the up and down mass required to conduct scientific investigations since only the generic multi-specimen sample holders need to be transported to and from orbit. Overall, the science research community will be better served with the MVF's advanced experiment processing capability, and NASA can more fully realize its goal of utilizing ISS as a national laboratory.
The novel approach to the automated balancing system for the MVF centrifuge could become a very valuable asset to washing machine manufacturers who struggle with vibration associated with unevenly-distributed washed clothing being spin-dried in a rotating tub. MVF's unique approach to environmental control for cell cultures offers commercial applications in closed-environment bioassay situations. For commercial spaceflight, Techshot serves as an Implementation Partner for enabling space flight experimentation on ISS. Techshot offers flight experiment services to researchers from universities and the private sector. Techshot's successful space flight experiments with processing facilities like ADF and ADSEP position the company as a leader in offering these unique services. MVF is expected to give Techshot an even greater competitive advantage in attracting microgravity research customers. Furthermore, with the ability of commercial launch vehicles (e.g. SpaceX, Orbital Science) to get more experiment samples into orbit, once these vehicles begin routine visits to the ISS, the economics of transporting and processing materials in microgravity should become far more compelling. Eventually, given sufficient economical commercial launch vehicle transporting capacity, when coupled with Techshot's cadre of space processing equipment, MVF could become an important element for processing larger quantities of high-value materials in the unique microgravity environment of space.
The NASA SBIR and STTR programs fund the research, development, and demonstration of innovative technologies that fulfill NASA needs as described in the annual Solicitations and have significant potential for successful commercialization. If you are a small business concern (SBC) with 500 or fewer employees or a non-profit RI such as a university or a research laboratory with ties to an SBC, then NASA encourages you to learn more about the SBIR and STTR programs as a potential source of seed funding for the development of your innovations.
The SBIR and STTR programs have 3 phases:
The SBIR and STTR Phase I contracts last for 6 months with a maximum funding of $125,000, and Phase II contracts last for 24 months with a maximum funding of $750,000 - $1.5 million.
Opportunity for Continued Technology Development Post-Phase II:
The NASA SBIR/STTR Program currently has in place two initiatives for supporting its small business partners past the basic Phase I and Phase II elements of the program that emphasize opportunities for commercialization. Specifically, the NASA SBIR/STTR Program has the Phase II Enhancement (Phase II-E) and Phase II eXpanded (Phase II-X) contract options.
Please review the links below to obtain more information on the SBIR/STTR programs.
Provides an overview of the SBIR and STTR programs as implemented by NASA
Provides access to the annual SBIR/STTR Solicitations containing detailed information on the program eligibility requirements, proposal instructions and research topics and subtopics
Schedule and links for the SBIR/STTR solicitations and selection announcements
Federal and non-Federal sources of assistance for small business
Search our complete archive of awarded project abstracts to learn about what NASA has funded
Still have questions? Visit the program FAQs
","parentProgram":{"ableToSelect":false,"isActive":true,"description":"Catalyst is a portfolio of early stage programs that specialize in different innovation constituencies and mechanisms to push the state of the art in aerospace technology development","programId":92327,"responsibleMd":{"canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"","organizationTypePretty":""},"title":"Catalyst","manageGaps":false,"acronymOrTitle":"Catalyst"},"parentProgramId":92327,"programId":73,"responsibleMd":{"organizationId":4875,"organizationName":"Space Technology Mission Directorate","acronym":"STMD","organizationType":"NASA_Mission_Directorate","canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"","organizationTypePretty":"NASA Mission Directorate"},"responsibleMdOffice":4875,"stockImageFileId":36648,"title":"Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer","manageGaps":false,"acronymOrTitle":"SBIR/STTR"},"description":"The Multi-specimen Variable-G Facility (MVF) is a single locker sized centrifuge facility for life and microgravity sciences research on the International Space Station. The MVF is a rear breather EXPRESS Rack payload that leverages many of the existing subsystems of flight proven (STS-108) Avian Development Facility (ADF) thereby reducing costs and time to flight for new scientific capability. Two centrifuge rotor platforms are capable of applying 0–2 g's to the modular specimen containers which can be modified to accommodate a wide variety of experiment samples. Curved cell culture specimen containers are designed to maintain a constant radius (within ? 1 mm) without inertial-gradient shearing or significant Coriolis acceleration. Each rotor can accommodate 10 generic modular experiment specimen holders which can be accessed in real-time on-orbit any time during an experiment. The centrifuge platforms include an active balancing system to ensure balanced rotation when the experiment sample modules contain slightly variable mass. The MVF will control g-levels, temperature, humidity, ethylene, CO2 and other gases, and provides video observation capability with its removable modular subsystem allowing on-orbit cleaning and/or replacement. The potential uses of the MVF are numerous, such as cell culture, aquatics, plants, algae, and invertebrate organisms. The modular multi-specimen holder can be utilized as a prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell culture vessel. It can be used to contain aquatic organisms such as Zebra fish, Medaka, tadpoles, and even developing amphibian eggs. Seedlings, small adult plants (Arabadopsis), and even fern spores could be located within the specimen holder. Other possibilities include Algae (Chara) and fungi (S. cerevisiae). During the Phase II project, Techshot will complete the MVF design, fabricate a flight-like prototype, and test the hardware by performing selected biological experiments to demonstrate its scientific utility.
","benefits":"MVF offers innovative new technology needed for on-orbit processing, as well as the chance to leverage existing ISS facilities for new scientific payloads. This is expected to lead to many new potential NASA commercial applications and opportunities. In particular, Techshot expects to commercialize the MVF by incorporating it into the company's spaceflight service program that it offers to NASA mission programs, as well as to other Government agencies, including investigators funded by the National Institute of Health's Biomed-ISS program. In combination with the long list of other proven flight hardware developed by Techshot, MVF unique centrifuge capability is expected to greatly expand the company's competitive position and range of services. The unique advantage of the MVF is its capability to provide synchronous controls in the same environment as the test specimens, while permitting on-orbit access to the specimens, which provides the opportunity to conduct real-time analysis on the experimental samples. Furthermore, on-orbit specimen access reduces the up and down mass required to conduct scientific investigations since only the generic multi-specimen sample holders need to be transported to and from orbit. Overall, the science research community will be better served with the MVF's advanced experiment processing capability, and NASA can more fully realize its goal of utilizing ISS as a national laboratory.
The novel approach to the automated balancing system for the MVF centrifuge could become a very valuable asset to washing machine manufacturers who struggle with vibration associated with unevenly-distributed washed clothing being spin-dried in a rotating tub. MVF's unique approach to environmental control for cell cultures offers commercial applications in closed-environment bioassay situations. For commercial spaceflight, Techshot serves as an Implementation Partner for enabling space flight experimentation on ISS. Techshot offers flight experiment services to researchers from universities and the private sector. Techshot's successful space flight experiments with processing facilities like ADF and ADSEP position the company as a leader in offering these unique services. MVF is expected to give Techshot an even greater competitive advantage in attracting microgravity research customers. Furthermore, with the ability of commercial launch vehicles (e.g. SpaceX, Orbital Science) to get more experiment samples into orbit, once these vehicles begin routine visits to the ISS, the economics of transporting and processing materials in microgravity should become far more compelling. Eventually, given sufficient economical commercial launch vehicle transporting capacity, when coupled with Techshot's cadre of space processing equipment, MVF could become an important element for processing larger quantities of high-value materials in the unique microgravity environment of space.
The NASA SBIR and STTR programs fund the research, development, and demonstration of innovative technologies that fulfill NASA needs as described in the annual Solicitations and have significant potential for successful commercialization. If you are a small business concern (SBC) with 500 or fewer employees or a non-profit RI such as a university or a research laboratory with ties to an SBC, then NASA encourages you to learn more about the SBIR and STTR programs as a potential source of seed funding for the development of your innovations.
The SBIR and STTR programs have 3 phases:
The SBIR and STTR Phase I contracts last for 6 months with a maximum funding of $125,000, and Phase II contracts last for 24 months with a maximum funding of $750,000 - $1.5 million.
Opportunity for Continued Technology Development Post-Phase II:
The NASA SBIR/STTR Program currently has in place two initiatives for supporting its small business partners past the basic Phase I and Phase II elements of the program that emphasize opportunities for commercialization. Specifically, the NASA SBIR/STTR Program has the Phase II Enhancement (Phase II-E) and Phase II eXpanded (Phase II-X) contract options.
Please review the links below to obtain more information on the SBIR/STTR programs.
Provides an overview of the SBIR and STTR programs as implemented by NASA
Provides access to the annual SBIR/STTR Solicitations containing detailed information on the program eligibility requirements, proposal instructions and research topics and subtopics
Schedule and links for the SBIR/STTR solicitations and selection announcements
Federal and non-Federal sources of assistance for small business
Search our complete archive of awarded project abstracts to learn about what NASA has funded
Still have questions? Visit the program FAQs
","parentProgram":{"ableToSelect":false,"isActive":true,"description":"Catalyst is a portfolio of early stage programs that specialize in different innovation constituencies and mechanisms to push the state of the art in aerospace technology development","programId":92327,"responsibleMd":{"canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"","organizationTypePretty":""},"title":"Catalyst","manageGaps":false,"acronymOrTitle":"Catalyst"},"parentProgramId":92327,"programId":73,"responsibleMd":{"organizationId":4875,"organizationName":"Space Technology Mission Directorate","acronym":"STMD","organizationType":"NASA_Mission_Directorate","canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"","organizationTypePretty":"NASA Mission Directorate"},"responsibleMdOffice":4875,"stockImageFileId":36648,"title":"Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer","manageGaps":false,"acronymOrTitle":"SBIR/STTR"},"description":"Techshot, Inc. proposes to develop a Multi-specimen Variable-G Facility (MVF) for life and microgravity sciences research. The MVF incorporates a generic multi-specimen sample holder which can be accessed on-orbit, allowing data to be obtained in real-time. Candidate specimens accommodated by the MVF include various cells (e.g. for culturing), aquatics, plants, algae, and invertebrate organisms. More specifically, the generic multi-specimen container can be utilized as a prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell culture vessel. It can be used to contain aquatic organisms such as Zebra fish, Medaka, tadpoles, and even developing amphibian eggs. Seedlings, small adult plants (Arabadopsis), and even fern spores could be located within the specimen container. Other possibilities include Algae (Chara), fungi (S. cerevisiae), as well as invertebrate organisms such as C. elegans and Drosophila sp. in very large numbers. MVF's distinct advantage is its capability to provide synchronously controlled 1-G specimens in the same environment as the test specimens. More importantly, the innovative curved-wall sample holders within the MVF provide a constant gravitational force to the samples at all specimen locations. Since the MVF builds upon existing flight-proven technology, the long scientific hardware development cycle will be significantly reduced, translating into higher scientific throughput of ISS.","benefits":"Building on its expected success with employing MVF to support NASA mission programs, Techshot expects to soon offer flight experiment services to non-NASA customers, including private sector and university researchers. Once commercial space vehicles (e.g. SpaceX, Orbital) begin routinely flying to the ISS, to commercial space stations (e.g. Bigelow), and as free fliers (e.g. DragonLab), the economics of transporting materials to and from space should become much more appealing. MVF is capable of supporting a wide variety of microgravity research for the private sector customer base. It also has the potential for scale up of processing high-value products in the unique environment of space, including large scale cell and tissue growth, and high-value medical-grade materials processing. In addition, several of the unique custom-designed components and subsystems in the MVF have the potential to be used in non-space applications, such as ground-based research laboratories, medical instruments, and industrial testing equipment.The NASA SBIR and STTR programs fund the research, development, and demonstration of innovative technologies that fulfill NASA needs as described in the annual Solicitations and have significant potential for successful commercialization. If you are a small business concern (SBC) with 500 or fewer employees or a non-profit RI such as a university or a research laboratory with ties to an SBC, then NASA encourages you to learn more about the SBIR and STTR programs as a potential source of seed funding for the development of your innovations.
The SBIR and STTR programs have 3 phases:
The SBIR and STTR Phase I contracts last for 6 months with a maximum funding of $125,000, and Phase II contracts last for 24 months with a maximum funding of $750,000 - $1.5 million.
Opportunity for Continued Technology Development Post-Phase II:
The NASA SBIR/STTR Program currently has in place two initiatives for supporting its small business partners past the basic Phase I and Phase II elements of the program that emphasize opportunities for commercialization. Specifically, the NASA SBIR/STTR Program has the Phase II Enhancement (Phase II-E) and Phase II eXpanded (Phase II-X) contract options.
Please review the links below to obtain more information on the SBIR/STTR programs.
Provides an overview of the SBIR and STTR programs as implemented by NASA
Provides access to the annual SBIR/STTR Solicitations containing detailed information on the program eligibility requirements, proposal instructions and research topics and subtopics
Schedule and links for the SBIR/STTR solicitations and selection announcements
Federal and non-Federal sources of assistance for small business
Search our complete archive of awarded project abstracts to learn about what NASA has funded
Still have questions? Visit the program FAQs
","parentProgram":{"ableToSelect":false,"isActive":true,"description":"Catalyst is a portfolio of early stage programs that specialize in different innovation constituencies and mechanisms to push the state of the art in aerospace technology development","programId":92327,"responsibleMd":{"canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"","organizationTypePretty":""},"title":"Catalyst","manageGaps":false,"acronymOrTitle":"Catalyst"},"parentProgramId":92327,"programId":73,"responsibleMd":{"organizationId":4875,"organizationName":"Space Technology Mission Directorate","acronym":"STMD","organizationType":"NASA_Mission_Directorate","canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"","organizationTypePretty":"NASA Mission Directorate"},"responsibleMdOffice":4875,"stockImageFileId":36648,"title":"Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer","manageGaps":false,"acronymOrTitle":"SBIR/STTR"},"description":"The Multi-specimen Variable-G Facility (MVF) is a single locker sized centrifuge facility for life and microgravity sciences research on the International Space Station. The MVF is a rear breather EXPRESS Rack payload that leverages many of the existing subsystems of flight proven (STS-108) Avian Development Facility (ADF) thereby reducing costs and time to flight for new scientific capability. Two centrifuge rotor platforms are capable of applying 0–2 g's to the modular specimen containers which can be modified to accommodate a wide variety of experiment samples. Curved cell culture specimen containers are designed to maintain a constant radius (within ? 1 mm) without inertial-gradient shearing or significant Coriolis acceleration. Each rotor can accommodate 10 generic modular experiment specimen holders which can be accessed in real-time on-orbit any time during an experiment. The centrifuge platforms include an active balancing system to ensure balanced rotation when the experiment sample modules contain slightly variable mass. The MVF will control g-levels, temperature, humidity, ethylene, CO2 and other gases, and provides video observation capability with its removable modular subsystem allowing on-orbit cleaning and/or replacement. The potential uses of the MVF are numerous, such as cell culture, aquatics, plants, algae, and invertebrate organisms. The modular multi-specimen holder can be utilized as a prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell culture vessel. It can be used to contain aquatic organisms such as Zebra fish, Medaka, tadpoles, and even developing amphibian eggs. Seedlings, small adult plants (Arabadopsis), and even fern spores could be located within the specimen holder. Other possibilities include Algae (Chara) and fungi (S. cerevisiae). During the Phase II project, Techshot will complete the MVF design, fabricate a flight-like prototype, and test the hardware by performing selected biological experiments to demonstrate its scientific utility.
","benefits":"MVF offers innovative new technology needed for on-orbit processing, as well as the chance to leverage existing ISS facilities for new scientific payloads. This is expected to lead to many new potential NASA commercial applications and opportunities. In particular, Techshot expects to commercialize the MVF by incorporating it into the company's spaceflight service program that it offers to NASA mission programs, as well as to other Government agencies, including investigators funded by the National Institute of Health's Biomed-ISS program. In combination with the long list of other proven flight hardware developed by Techshot, MVF unique centrifuge capability is expected to greatly expand the company's competitive position and range of services. The unique advantage of the MVF is its capability to provide synchronous controls in the same environment as the test specimens, while permitting on-orbit access to the specimens, which provides the opportunity to conduct real-time analysis on the experimental samples. Furthermore, on-orbit specimen access reduces the up and down mass required to conduct scientific investigations since only the generic multi-specimen sample holders need to be transported to and from orbit. Overall, the science research community will be better served with the MVF's advanced experiment processing capability, and NASA can more fully realize its goal of utilizing ISS as a national laboratory.
The novel approach to the automated balancing system for the MVF centrifuge could become a very valuable asset to washing machine manufacturers who struggle with vibration associated with unevenly-distributed washed clothing being spin-dried in a rotating tub. MVF's unique approach to environmental control for cell cultures offers commercial applications in closed-environment bioassay situations. For commercial spaceflight, Techshot serves as an Implementation Partner for enabling space flight experimentation on ISS. Techshot offers flight experiment services to researchers from universities and the private sector. Techshot's successful space flight experiments with processing facilities like ADF and ADSEP position the company as a leader in offering these unique services. MVF is expected to give Techshot an even greater competitive advantage in attracting microgravity research customers. Furthermore, with the ability of commercial launch vehicles (e.g. SpaceX, Orbital Science) to get more experiment samples into orbit, once these vehicles begin routine visits to the ISS, the economics of transporting and processing materials in microgravity should become far more compelling. Eventually, given sufficient economical commercial launch vehicle transporting capacity, when coupled with Techshot's cadre of space processing equipment, MVF could become an important element for processing larger quantities of high-value materials in the unique microgravity environment of space.
The NASA SBIR and STTR programs fund the research, development, and demonstration of innovative technologies that fulfill NASA needs as described in the annual Solicitations and have significant potential for successful commercialization. If you are a small business concern (SBC) with 500 or fewer employees or a non-profit RI such as a university or a research laboratory with ties to an SBC, then NASA encourages you to learn more about the SBIR and STTR programs as a potential source of seed funding for the development of your innovations.
The SBIR and STTR programs have 3 phases:
The SBIR and STTR Phase I contracts last for 6 months with a maximum funding of $125,000, and Phase II contracts last for 24 months with a maximum funding of $750,000 - $1.5 million.
Opportunity for Continued Technology Development Post-Phase II:
The NASA SBIR/STTR Program currently has in place two initiatives for supporting its small business partners past the basic Phase I and Phase II elements of the program that emphasize opportunities for commercialization. Specifically, the NASA SBIR/STTR Program has the Phase II Enhancement (Phase II-E) and Phase II eXpanded (Phase II-X) contract options.
Please review the links below to obtain more information on the SBIR/STTR programs.
Provides an overview of the SBIR and STTR programs as implemented by NASA
Provides access to the annual SBIR/STTR Solicitations containing detailed information on the program eligibility requirements, proposal instructions and research topics and subtopics
Schedule and links for the SBIR/STTR solicitations and selection announcements
Federal and non-Federal sources of assistance for small business
Search our complete archive of awarded project abstracts to learn about what NASA has funded
Still have questions? Visit the program FAQs
","parentProgram":{"ableToSelect":false,"isActive":true,"description":"Catalyst is a portfolio of early stage programs that specialize in different innovation constituencies and mechanisms to push the state of the art in aerospace technology development","programId":92327,"responsibleMd":{"canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"","organizationTypePretty":""},"title":"Catalyst","manageGaps":false,"acronymOrTitle":"Catalyst"},"parentProgramId":92327,"programId":73,"responsibleMd":{"organizationId":4875,"organizationName":"Space Technology Mission Directorate","acronym":"STMD","organizationType":"NASA_Mission_Directorate","canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"","organizationTypePretty":"NASA Mission Directorate"},"responsibleMdOffice":4875,"stockImageFileId":36648,"title":"Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer","manageGaps":false,"acronymOrTitle":"SBIR/STTR"},"description":"The Multi-specimen Variable-G Facility (MVF) is a single locker sized centrifuge facility for life and microgravity sciences research on the International Space Station. The MVF is a rear breather EXPRESS Rack payload that leverages many of the existing subsystems of flight proven (STS-108) Avian Development Facility (ADF) thereby reducing costs and time to flight for new scientific capability. Two centrifuge rotor platforms are capable of applying 0–2 g's to the modular specimen containers which can be modified to accommodate a wide variety of experiment samples. Curved cell culture specimen containers are designed to maintain a constant radius (within ? 1 mm) without inertial-gradient shearing or significant Coriolis acceleration. Each rotor can accommodate 10 generic modular experiment specimen holders which can be accessed in real-time on-orbit any time during an experiment. The centrifuge platforms include an active balancing system to ensure balanced rotation when the experiment sample modules contain slightly variable mass. The MVF will control g-levels, temperature, humidity, ethylene, CO2 and other gases, and provides video observation capability with its removable modular subsystem allowing on-orbit cleaning and/or replacement. The potential uses of the MVF are numerous, such as cell culture, aquatics, plants, algae, and invertebrate organisms. The modular multi-specimen holder can be utilized as a prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell culture vessel. It can be used to contain aquatic organisms such as Zebra fish, Medaka, tadpoles, and even developing amphibian eggs. Seedlings, small adult plants (Arabadopsis), and even fern spores could be located within the specimen holder. Other possibilities include Algae (Chara) and fungi (S. cerevisiae). During the Phase II project, Techshot will complete the MVF design, fabricate a flight-like prototype, and test the hardware by performing selected biological experiments to demonstrate its scientific utility.
","benefits":"MVF offers innovative new technology needed for on-orbit processing, as well as the chance to leverage existing ISS facilities for new scientific payloads. This is expected to lead to many new potential NASA commercial applications and opportunities. In particular, Techshot expects to commercialize the MVF by incorporating it into the company's spaceflight service program that it offers to NASA mission programs, as well as to other Government agencies, including investigators funded by the National Institute of Health's Biomed-ISS program. In combination with the long list of other proven flight hardware developed by Techshot, MVF unique centrifuge capability is expected to greatly expand the company's competitive position and range of services. The unique advantage of the MVF is its capability to provide synchronous controls in the same environment as the test specimens, while permitting on-orbit access to the specimens, which provides the opportunity to conduct real-time analysis on the experimental samples. Furthermore, on-orbit specimen access reduces the up and down mass required to conduct scientific investigations since only the generic multi-specimen sample holders need to be transported to and from orbit. Overall, the science research community will be better served with the MVF's advanced experiment processing capability, and NASA can more fully realize its goal of utilizing ISS as a national laboratory.
The novel approach to the automated balancing system for the MVF centrifuge could become a very valuable asset to washing machine manufacturers who struggle with vibration associated with unevenly-distributed washed clothing being spin-dried in a rotating tub. MVF's unique approach to environmental control for cell cultures offers commercial applications in closed-environment bioassay situations. For commercial spaceflight, Techshot serves as an Implementation Partner for enabling space flight experimentation on ISS. Techshot offers flight experiment services to researchers from universities and the private sector. Techshot's successful space flight experiments with processing facilities like ADF and ADSEP position the company as a leader in offering these unique services. MVF is expected to give Techshot an even greater competitive advantage in attracting microgravity research customers. Furthermore, with the ability of commercial launch vehicles (e.g. SpaceX, Orbital Science) to get more experiment samples into orbit, once these vehicles begin routine visits to the ISS, the economics of transporting and processing materials in microgravity should become far more compelling. Eventually, given sufficient economical commercial launch vehicle transporting capacity, when coupled with Techshot's cadre of space processing equipment, MVF could become an important element for processing larger quantities of high-value materials in the unique microgravity environment of space.
The NASA SBIR and STTR programs fund the research, development, and demonstration of innovative technologies that fulfill NASA needs as described in the annual Solicitations and have significant potential for successful commercialization. If you are a small business concern (SBC) with 500 or fewer employees or a non-profit RI such as a university or a research laboratory with ties to an SBC, then NASA encourages you to learn more about the SBIR and STTR programs as a potential source of seed funding for the development of your innovations.
The SBIR and STTR programs have 3 phases:
The SBIR and STTR Phase I contracts last for 6 months with a maximum funding of $125,000, and Phase II contracts last for 24 months with a maximum funding of $750,000 - $1.5 million.
Opportunity for Continued Technology Development Post-Phase II:
The NASA SBIR/STTR Program currently has in place two initiatives for supporting its small business partners past the basic Phase I and Phase II elements of the program that emphasize opportunities for commercialization. Specifically, the NASA SBIR/STTR Program has the Phase II Enhancement (Phase II-E) and Phase II eXpanded (Phase II-X) contract options.
Please review the links below to obtain more information on the SBIR/STTR programs.
Provides an overview of the SBIR and STTR programs as implemented by NASA
Provides access to the annual SBIR/STTR Solicitations containing detailed information on the program eligibility requirements, proposal instructions and research topics and subtopics
Schedule and links for the SBIR/STTR solicitations and selection announcements
Federal and non-Federal sources of assistance for small business
Search our complete archive of awarded project abstracts to learn about what NASA has funded
Still have questions? Visit the program FAQs
","parentProgram":{"ableToSelect":false,"isActive":true,"description":"Catalyst is a portfolio of early stage programs that specialize in different innovation constituencies and mechanisms to push the state of the art in aerospace technology development","programId":92327,"responsibleMd":{"canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"","organizationTypePretty":""},"title":"Catalyst","manageGaps":false,"acronymOrTitle":"Catalyst"},"parentProgramId":92327,"programId":73,"responsibleMd":{"organizationId":4875,"organizationName":"Space Technology Mission Directorate","acronym":"STMD","organizationType":"NASA_Mission_Directorate","canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"","organizationTypePretty":"NASA Mission Directorate"},"responsibleMdOffice":4875,"stockImageFileId":36648,"title":"Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer","manageGaps":false,"acronymOrTitle":"SBIR/STTR"},"description":"Techshot, Inc. proposes to develop a Multi-specimen Variable-G Facility (MVF) for life and microgravity sciences research. The MVF incorporates a generic multi-specimen sample holder which can be accessed on-orbit, allowing data to be obtained in real-time. Candidate specimens accommodated by the MVF include various cells (e.g. for culturing), aquatics, plants, algae, and invertebrate organisms. More specifically, the generic multi-specimen container can be utilized as a prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell culture vessel. It can be used to contain aquatic organisms such as Zebra fish, Medaka, tadpoles, and even developing amphibian eggs. Seedlings, small adult plants (Arabadopsis), and even fern spores could be located within the specimen container. Other possibilities include Algae (Chara), fungi (S. cerevisiae), as well as invertebrate organisms such as C. elegans and Drosophila sp. in very large numbers. MVF's distinct advantage is its capability to provide synchronously controlled 1-G specimens in the same environment as the test specimens. More importantly, the innovative curved-wall sample holders within the MVF provide a constant gravitational force to the samples at all specimen locations. Since the MVF builds upon existing flight-proven technology, the long scientific hardware development cycle will be significantly reduced, translating into higher scientific throughput of ISS.","benefits":"Building on its expected success with employing MVF to support NASA mission programs, Techshot expects to soon offer flight experiment services to non-NASA customers, including private sector and university researchers. Once commercial space vehicles (e.g. SpaceX, Orbital) begin routinely flying to the ISS, to commercial space stations (e.g. Bigelow), and as free fliers (e.g. DragonLab), the economics of transporting materials to and from space should become much more appealing. MVF is capable of supporting a wide variety of microgravity research for the private sector customer base. It also has the potential for scale up of processing high-value products in the unique environment of space, including large scale cell and tissue growth, and high-value medical-grade materials processing. In addition, several of the unique custom-designed components and subsystems in the MVF have the potential to be used in non-space applications, such as ground-based research laboratories, medical instruments, and industrial testing equipment.