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":"Single crystal silicon is a desirable mirror substrate for scan mirrors in space telescopes. As diameters of mirrors become larger, existing manufacturing capabilities of single crystal silicon (SCSi) cannot supply sizes that are larger than about 450 mm in diameter. Onyx Optics proposes to develop a process based on our established technique of Adhesive-Free Bonding (AFB®) of single crystals, optical ceramics and glasses that can produce sizes that are larger than commercially available SCSi. The precision composites, consisting of SCSi components, are expected to perform as well as a single crystal. Precision grinding and polishing of large composite SCSi without subsurface damage is a desirable feature for large scan mirror substrates. As part of the proposed manufacturing process, Onyx Optics proposes to develop a technique that is based on electrolytic in-process dressing (ELID) of grinding wheels of decreasing diamond grain sizes. The process is generally applicable to ductile grinding of hard materials such as glass, sapphire, silicon carbide, silicon nitride and SCSi and is known to result in low stress components. Composite SCSi interfaces will be charactized interferometrically at 1.55 micron by their transmitted wavefront. Heat transfer measurements across bonded interfaces of SCSi will be performed at room temperature and liquid nitrogen. Equi-biaxial fracture strength of composite disks will be determined and compared with control disks.","benefits":"Technology continues to be developed at NASA GSFC to produce SCSi lightweight mirrors for cryogenic and other applications. This proposal aims to contribute to this effort by developing a process to supply mirrors of larger diameter than can readily be produced directly by crystal growth, i.e. larger than about 450 mm diameter. SCSi mirrors have important performance and cost advantages over ULE, SiC, Zerodur and beryllium for the whole spectrum of applications for scan mirrors and telescopes. NASA applications include GOES-R satellites and Lidar for planetary explorations and space-based astrophysics. The present proposal represents a solution to producing high-quality low-stress large SCSi mirrors and substrates at much reduced cost in comparison to any other technology.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":"Single crystal silicon is a desirable mirror substrate for scan mirrors in space telescopes. As diameters of mirrors become larger, existing manufacturing capabilities of single crystal silicon (SCSi) cannot supply sizes that are larger than about 450 mm in diameter. Onyx Optics proposes to develop a process based on our established technique of Adhesive-Free Bonding (AFB®) of single crystals, optical ceramics and glasses that can produce sizes that are larger than commercially available SCSi. The precision composites, consisting of SCSi components, are expected to perform as well as a single crystal. Precision grinding and polishing of large composite SCSi without subsurface damage is a desirable feature for large scan mirror substrates. As part of the proposed manufacturing process, Onyx Optics proposes to develop a technique that is based on electrolytic in-process dressing (ELID) of grinding wheels of decreasing diamond grain sizes. The process is generally applicable to ductile grinding of hard materials such as glass, sapphire, silicon carbide, silicon nitride and SCSi and is known to result in low stress components. Composite SCSi interfaces will be charactized interferometrically at 1.55 micron by their transmitted wavefront. Heat transfer measurements across bonded interfaces of SCSi will be performed at room temperature and liquid nitrogen. Equi-biaxial fracture strength of composite disks will be determined and compared with control disks.","benefits":"Technology continues to be developed at NASA GSFC to produce SCSi lightweight mirrors for cryogenic and other applications. This proposal aims to contribute to this effort by developing a process to supply mirrors of larger diameter than can readily be produced directly by crystal growth, i.e. larger than about 450 mm diameter. SCSi mirrors have important performance and cost advantages over ULE, SiC, Zerodur and beryllium for the whole spectrum of applications for scan mirrors and telescopes. NASA applications include GOES-R satellites and Lidar for planetary explorations and space-based astrophysics. The present proposal represents a solution to producing high-quality low-stress large SCSi mirrors and substrates at much reduced cost in comparison to any other technology.