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":"The proposed innovation advances the ability to apply the Holomorphic Embedding Load Flow Technology (HELM™) method to provide deterministic load flow modeling for spacecraft power systems. Future deep-space vehicles need intelligent, fault-tolerant and autonomous control of power management and distribution. Due to communications latency, control algorithms for future autonomous space power systems need to be very robust, highly reliable and fault tolerant. Modeling of load flows is vital both to design spacecraft power systems and to operate them autonomously. A key element is state estimation—given the available sensors and their readings, what is the real state of the system? What action is required to maintain operation? State estimation is especially important when the system is in an off-nominal condition. Human operators draw upon experience to integrate off-nominal sensor readings and develop a gestalt of system state, but autonomous operation requires computation. Current modeling techniques (i.e., Newton-Raphson (NR) optimization) are not equal to this task due to their iterative nature and initial point dependency. Many off-nominal cases cannot be solved at all using NR. Worse, even more off-nominal cases appear to be solvable using NR, but the solutions are actually invalid. An NR-based autonomous control system faced with off-nominal conditions will reach an incorrect conclusion more often than not, with potentially catastrophic consequences for the spacecraft. By contrast, HELM™ provides deterministic solutions for off-nominal states, without dependence on initial solution seeds, thereby providing the level of fidelity and surety needed to develop an autonomous system. In Phase I, Gridquant Technologies LLC successfully adapted HELM™ to solve the non-linearity problems of a small DC micro-grid, which will enable NASA to develop and implement the advanced architectures needed for future long-term deep-space exploration.","benefits":"The project, when completed (all phases) will provide NASA with a reliable and fast State Estimator that will improve grid observability; optimization algorithms for load management under variable load demand and constrained capacity, yielding reliable results that have been power-flow checked; control-based applications; and auto-healing modules providing optimal (power-flow checked) action sequences for reconfiguration, in order to minimize brownouts and blackouts. These software applications provide the building blocks from which a truly autonomous power system can be built. Such a system is a pre-requisite for successful deep space missions requiring long-term operation with minimal human intervention. We envision that the first NASA system to receive the benefits of this effort will be Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP).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":"The proposed innovation advances the ability to apply the Holomorphic Embedding Load Flow Technology (HELM™) method to provide deterministic load flow modeling for spacecraft power systems. Future deep-space vehicles need intelligent, fault-tolerant and autonomous control of power management and distribution. Due to communications latency, control algorithms for future autonomous space power systems need to be very robust, highly reliable and fault tolerant. Modeling of load flows is vital both to design spacecraft power systems and to operate them autonomously. A key element is state estimation—given the available sensors and their readings, what is the real state of the system? What action is required to maintain operation? State estimation is especially important when the system is in an off-nominal condition. Human operators draw upon experience to integrate off-nominal sensor readings and develop a gestalt of system state, but autonomous operation requires computation. Current modeling techniques (i.e., Newton-Raphson (NR) optimization) are not equal to this task due to their iterative nature and initial point dependency. Many off-nominal cases cannot be solved at all using NR. Worse, even more off-nominal cases appear to be solvable using NR, but the solutions are actually invalid. An NR-based autonomous control system faced with off-nominal conditions will reach an incorrect conclusion more often than not, with potentially catastrophic consequences for the spacecraft. By contrast, HELM™ provides deterministic solutions for off-nominal states, without dependence on initial solution seeds, thereby providing the level of fidelity and surety needed to develop an autonomous system. In Phase I, Gridquant Technologies LLC successfully adapted HELM™ to solve the non-linearity problems of a small DC micro-grid, which will enable NASA to develop and implement the advanced architectures needed for future long-term deep-space exploration.","benefits":"The project, when completed (all phases) will provide NASA with a reliable and fast State Estimator that will improve grid observability; optimization algorithms for load management under variable load demand and constrained capacity, yielding reliable results that have been power-flow checked; control-based applications; and auto-healing modules providing optimal (power-flow checked) action sequences for reconfiguration, in order to minimize brownouts and blackouts. These software applications provide the building blocks from which a truly autonomous power system can be built. Such a system is a pre-requisite for successful deep space missions requiring long-term operation with minimal human intervention. We envision that the first NASA system to receive the benefits of this effort will be Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP).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":"The Holomorphic Embedding Load Flow Method (HELM) is a breakthrough that brings significant advances to the field of power systems. It provides a non-iterative procedure to compute, with mathematically proven guarantees even near voltage collapse, the correct operative power flow solution, to the desired accuracy. Unlike iterative methods, which are inherently prone to non-deterministic convergence failures, HELM can be used as the fundamental block for building reliable real-time network applications. The most advanced applications, which rely on optimal search techniques in the state-space of the power system and perform thousands of exploratory power flows, would be unfeasible with any of the iterative methods. This proposal addresses one of the needs of Topic S3.03, namely the need for intelligent, fault-tolerant PMAD technologies to efficiently manage system power for deep space missions. It does so at a foundational level, as it lays down the algorithmic technology that will enable a new class of real-time intelligent algorithms based on reliable, model-based computation. An example of this in terrestrial grids, which has been proven in actual deployments at some large utilities, is a Restoration plan builder, able to compute detailed restoration plans in real time, equaling or surpassing the abilities of human operators. The approach for Phase I consists in applying the new HELM power flow technology to the relevant models for the micro-grids present on current and projected spacecraft power systems, validating and benchmarking the simulation results against other current power flow technologies. This will demonstrate how this technology is better than the state of the art. By highlighting the mathematical properties of the method (unequivocal results, 100% reliability) on the models specific to autonomous DC spacecraft, we will establish the validity and also the status of HELM as the building block of future intelligent applications.","benefits":"The project, when completed (Phase I, II & III) will provide NASA with: (1) Reliable and fast State Estimator that will improve grid observability; (2) Optimization algorithms for load management under variable load demand and constrained capacity, yielding reliable results that have been power-flow checked; (3) Auto-healing modules providing optimal (power-flow checked) action sequences for reconfiguration, in order to minimize brownouts and blackouts; (4) Modules for training, system design, forensic analysis, and diagnostics and identification of errors in modeling. These applications are the basic ingredients upon which a truly intelligent autonomous power system can be built. Such a system is undoubtedly a pre-requisite for successful Deep Space missions requiring long-term complex PMAD operations with minimal or no human intervention.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":"The proposed innovation advances the ability to apply the Holomorphic Embedding Load Flow Technology (HELM™) method to provide deterministic load flow modeling for spacecraft power systems. Future deep-space vehicles need intelligent, fault-tolerant and autonomous control of power management and distribution. Due to communications latency, control algorithms for future autonomous space power systems need to be very robust, highly reliable and fault tolerant. Modeling of load flows is vital both to design spacecraft power systems and to operate them autonomously. A key element is state estimation—given the available sensors and their readings, what is the real state of the system? What action is required to maintain operation? State estimation is especially important when the system is in an off-nominal condition. Human operators draw upon experience to integrate off-nominal sensor readings and develop a gestalt of system state, but autonomous operation requires computation. Current modeling techniques (i.e., Newton-Raphson (NR) optimization) are not equal to this task due to their iterative nature and initial point dependency. Many off-nominal cases cannot be solved at all using NR. Worse, even more off-nominal cases appear to be solvable using NR, but the solutions are actually invalid. An NR-based autonomous control system faced with off-nominal conditions will reach an incorrect conclusion more often than not, with potentially catastrophic consequences for the spacecraft. By contrast, HELM™ provides deterministic solutions for off-nominal states, without dependence on initial solution seeds, thereby providing the level of fidelity and surety needed to develop an autonomous system. In Phase I, Gridquant Technologies LLC successfully adapted HELM™ to solve the non-linearity problems of a small DC micro-grid, which will enable NASA to develop and implement the advanced architectures needed for future long-term deep-space exploration.","benefits":"The project, when completed (all phases) will provide NASA with a reliable and fast State Estimator that will improve grid observability; optimization algorithms for load management under variable load demand and constrained capacity, yielding reliable results that have been power-flow checked; control-based applications; and auto-healing modules providing optimal (power-flow checked) action sequences for reconfiguration, in order to minimize brownouts and blackouts. These software applications provide the building blocks from which a truly autonomous power system can be built. Such a system is a pre-requisite for successful deep space missions requiring long-term operation with minimal human intervention. We envision that the first NASA system to receive the benefits of this effort will be Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP).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":"The proposed innovation advances the ability to apply the Holomorphic Embedding Load Flow Technology (HELM™) method to provide deterministic load flow modeling for spacecraft power systems. Future deep-space vehicles need intelligent, fault-tolerant and autonomous control of power management and distribution. Due to communications latency, control algorithms for future autonomous space power systems need to be very robust, highly reliable and fault tolerant. Modeling of load flows is vital both to design spacecraft power systems and to operate them autonomously. A key element is state estimation—given the available sensors and their readings, what is the real state of the system? What action is required to maintain operation? State estimation is especially important when the system is in an off-nominal condition. Human operators draw upon experience to integrate off-nominal sensor readings and develop a gestalt of system state, but autonomous operation requires computation. Current modeling techniques (i.e., Newton-Raphson (NR) optimization) are not equal to this task due to their iterative nature and initial point dependency. Many off-nominal cases cannot be solved at all using NR. Worse, even more off-nominal cases appear to be solvable using NR, but the solutions are actually invalid. An NR-based autonomous control system faced with off-nominal conditions will reach an incorrect conclusion more often than not, with potentially catastrophic consequences for the spacecraft. By contrast, HELM™ provides deterministic solutions for off-nominal states, without dependence on initial solution seeds, thereby providing the level of fidelity and surety needed to develop an autonomous system. In Phase I, Gridquant Technologies LLC successfully adapted HELM™ to solve the non-linearity problems of a small DC micro-grid, which will enable NASA to develop and implement the advanced architectures needed for future long-term deep-space exploration.","benefits":"The project, when completed (all phases) will provide NASA with a reliable and fast State Estimator that will improve grid observability; optimization algorithms for load management under variable load demand and constrained capacity, yielding reliable results that have been power-flow checked; control-based applications; and auto-healing modules providing optimal (power-flow checked) action sequences for reconfiguration, in order to minimize brownouts and blackouts. These software applications provide the building blocks from which a truly autonomous power system can be built. Such a system is a pre-requisite for successful deep space missions requiring long-term operation with minimal human intervention. We envision that the first NASA system to receive the benefits of this effort will be Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP).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":"The Holomorphic Embedding Load Flow Method (HELM) is a breakthrough that brings significant advances to the field of power systems. It provides a non-iterative procedure to compute, with mathematically proven guarantees even near voltage collapse, the correct operative power flow solution, to the desired accuracy. Unlike iterative methods, which are inherently prone to non-deterministic convergence failures, HELM can be used as the fundamental block for building reliable real-time network applications. The most advanced applications, which rely on optimal search techniques in the state-space of the power system and perform thousands of exploratory power flows, would be unfeasible with any of the iterative methods. This proposal addresses one of the needs of Topic S3.03, namely the need for intelligent, fault-tolerant PMAD technologies to efficiently manage system power for deep space missions. It does so at a foundational level, as it lays down the algorithmic technology that will enable a new class of real-time intelligent algorithms based on reliable, model-based computation. An example of this in terrestrial grids, which has been proven in actual deployments at some large utilities, is a Restoration plan builder, able to compute detailed restoration plans in real time, equaling or surpassing the abilities of human operators. The approach for Phase I consists in applying the new HELM power flow technology to the relevant models for the micro-grids present on current and projected spacecraft power systems, validating and benchmarking the simulation results against other current power flow technologies. This will demonstrate how this technology is better than the state of the art. By highlighting the mathematical properties of the method (unequivocal results, 100% reliability) on the models specific to autonomous DC spacecraft, we will establish the validity and also the status of HELM as the building block of future intelligent applications.","benefits":"The project, when completed (Phase I, II & III) will provide NASA with: (1) Reliable and fast State Estimator that will improve grid observability; (2) Optimization algorithms for load management under variable load demand and constrained capacity, yielding reliable results that have been power-flow checked; (3) Auto-healing modules providing optimal (power-flow checked) action sequences for reconfiguration, in order to minimize brownouts and blackouts; (4) Modules for training, system design, forensic analysis, and diagnostics and identification of errors in modeling. These applications are the basic ingredients upon which a truly intelligent autonomous power system can be built. Such a system is undoubtedly a pre-requisite for successful Deep Space missions requiring long-term complex PMAD operations with minimal or no human intervention.