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","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","acronymOrTitle":"SBIR/STTR"},"description":"Thermal control systems are sized for the maximum heat load in the warmest continuous environment. This design process results in a larger radiator surface area than is needed for portions of a mission where the heat load is lower or the environment is colder. Now that NASA is refocusing its human missions to the much colder areas of exploration beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO), the need for a variable heat rejection thermal control system increases. This SBIR project by ACT will develop a Variable Heat Rejection multi Loop Heat Pipe (VHR/mLHP) Radiator where the variable heat rejection feature will be provided by independently controlling the heat load for each LHP by heating and cooling the compensation chamber The proposed approach will use a series of individually controlled loop heat pipes (LHPs) receiving heat from a single phase pumped loop to perform the function of variable heat rejection while still closely controlling the loop setpoint temperature. This technology development effort has three main objectives that build on mature LHP technology: optimization of the liquid/LHP heat exchanger, investigation of the use of heaters or thermoelectrics for temperature control and shutdown of the individual LHPs, and characterization of the system performance when multiple LHPs are assembled in series. The purpose of this program is to develop a holistic approach for a variable heat rejection system design consisting of multiple heat exchangers and multiple individually controlled LHPs which can achieve high turn down ratios for variable heat rejection while increasing the system reliability and reducing the system power and mass. The proposed concept is flexible, as various configurations could be obtained to meet different mission parameters. The main advantage of this technology development effort is that it leverages already proven technologies to integrate a novel system that can achieve robust variable heat rejection.","benefits":"The immediate NASA application of this technology is in the development of future human exploration vehicles, designed for deep space missions. These missions require thermal control systems capable of operating at fractions of their design heat load in the cold environment of deep space. In addition to manned exploration vehicles, this technology could be used as the thermal control system for any spacecraft or satellite designed to operate in deep space. The flexibility of the proposed concept allows for thermal control systems that can meet specific mission needs by varying the configuration of the LHPs. The proposed VHR/mLHP radiator is well-aligned with the NASA Strategic Roadmap (TA14 Thermal Management Systems) as it can be applied to a broad range of spacecraft and satellites that need variable heat rejection.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","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","acronymOrTitle":"SBIR/STTR"},"description":"Thermal control systems are sized for the maximum heat load in the warmest continuous environment. This design process results in a larger radiator surface area than is needed for portions of a mission where the heat load is lower or the environment is colder. Now that NASA is refocusing its human missions to the much colder areas of exploration beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO), the need for a variable heat rejection thermal control system increases. This SBIR project by ACT will develop a Variable Heat Rejection multi Loop Heat Pipe (VHR/mLHP) Radiator where the variable heat rejection feature will be provided by independently controlling the heat load for each LHP by heating and cooling the compensation chamber The proposed approach will use a series of individually controlled loop heat pipes (LHPs) receiving heat from a single phase pumped loop to perform the function of variable heat rejection while still closely controlling the loop setpoint temperature. This technology development effort has three main objectives that build on mature LHP technology: optimization of the liquid/LHP heat exchanger, investigation of the use of heaters or thermoelectrics for temperature control and shutdown of the individual LHPs, and characterization of the system performance when multiple LHPs are assembled in series. The purpose of this program is to develop a holistic approach for a variable heat rejection system design consisting of multiple heat exchangers and multiple individually controlled LHPs which can achieve high turn down ratios for variable heat rejection while increasing the system reliability and reducing the system power and mass. The proposed concept is flexible, as various configurations could be obtained to meet different mission parameters. The main advantage of this technology development effort is that it leverages already proven technologies to integrate a novel system that can achieve robust variable heat rejection.","benefits":"The immediate NASA application of this technology is in the development of future human exploration vehicles, designed for deep space missions. These missions require thermal control systems capable of operating at fractions of their design heat load in the cold environment of deep space. In addition to manned exploration vehicles, this technology could be used as the thermal control system for any spacecraft or satellite designed to operate in deep space. The flexibility of the proposed concept allows for thermal control systems that can meet specific mission needs by varying the configuration of the LHPs. The proposed VHR/mLHP radiator is well-aligned with the NASA Strategic Roadmap (TA14 Thermal Management Systems) as it can be applied to a broad range of spacecraft and satellites that need variable heat rejection.