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 aviation system of the United States of America is one of our national treasures. Very few elements of our culture capture the America spirit like aviation. Air transportation plays an absolutely vital role in our economy, and is also a core part of our high standard of living. But this importance of aviation in our society also makes aviation a highly desirable target for terrorists. Secretary of State Colin Powell has said that \"no threat is more serious to aviation\" than man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS). Although on-board defenses against MANPADS are being developed for commercial aircraft, these systems will not be deployed for many years and will be very expensive. The innovation proposed herein provides an information and decision support system to enhance security monitoring and patrolling around the perimeter of airports ? where the threat of MANPADS attacks is at its highest. This effort will merge the use of advanced airport surface surveillance data with decision support algorithms and security threat and vulnerability assessment methodologies to identify and alert security personnel regarding the airport perimeter areas of highest vulnerability and greatest access to targets of opportunity for MANPADS attacks or other terrorist activities.","releaseStatus":"Released","status":"Completed","viewCount":741,"destinationType":[],"lastUpdated":"01/27/25","favorited":false,"detailedFunding":false,"projectContacts":[{"contactId":74255,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Chris","lastName":"Brinton","fullName":"Chris Brinton","fullNameInverted":"Brinton, Chris","receiveEmail":"Subscribed_User","projectContactRole":"Principal_Investigator","projectContactId":26202,"projectId":5602,"programContactRolePretty":"","projectContactRolePretty":"Principal Investigator"}],"programContacts":[{"contactId":206378,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Jason","lastName":"Kessler","fullName":"Jason L Kessler","fullNameInverted":"Kessler, Jason L","middleInitial":"L","email":"jason.l.kessler@nasa.gov","receiveEmail":"Subscribed_User","programContactRole":"Program_Director","programContactId":143,"programId":73,"programContactRolePretty":"Program Director","projectContactRolePretty":""},{"contactId":62051,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Carlos","lastName":"Torrez","fullName":"Carlos Torrez","fullNameInverted":"Torrez, Carlos","email":"carlos.torrez@nasa.gov","receiveEmail":"Subscribed_User","programContactRole":"Program_Manager","programContactId":194,"programId":73,"programContactRolePretty":"Program Manager","projectContactRolePretty":""}],"leadOrganization":{"organizationId":4852,"organizationName":"Langley Research Center","acronym":"LaRC","organizationType":"NASA_Center","city":"Hampton","stateTerritoryId":7,"stateTerritory":{"abbreviation":"VA","country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"name":"Virginia","stateTerritoryId":7,"isTerritory":false},"country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"zipCode":"23681","projectId":5602,"projectOrganizationId":14809,"organizationRole":"Lead_Organization","canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"Lead Organization","organizationTypePretty":"NASA Center"},"otherOrganizations":[{"organizationId":4852,"organizationName":"Langley Research Center","acronym":"LaRC","organizationType":"NASA_Center","city":"Hampton","stateTerritoryId":7,"stateTerritory":{"abbreviation":"VA","country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"name":"Virginia","stateTerritoryId":7,"isTerritory":false},"country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"zipCode":"23681","projectId":5602,"projectOrganizationId":14809,"organizationRole":"Lead_Organization","canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"Lead Organization","organizationTypePretty":"NASA Center"},{"organizationId":2637,"organizationName":"Mosaic ATM, Inc.","organizationType":"Industry","city":"Leesburg","stateTerritoryId":7,"stateTerritory":{"abbreviation":"VA","country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"name":"Virginia","stateTerritoryId":7,"isTerritory":false},"country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"zipCode":"","dunsNumber":"164558376","uei":"KJKXBTLUAMA5","cageCode":"30GE9","congressionalDistrict":"Virginia 10","projectId":5602,"projectOrganizationId":23486,"organizationRole":"Supporting_Organization","canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"Supporting Organization","organizationTypePretty":"Industry"}],"primaryTx":{"taxonomyNodeId":11458,"taxonomyRootId":8817,"parentNodeId":11456,"code":"TX16.2","title":"Weather and Environment","description":"This area aims to develop tools that provide weather and environmental information to avoid inclement weather and environmental conditions affecting ground and flight-deck operations.","exampleTechnologies":"Improved weather & hazard awareness detection, prediction and alerting technologies, including aircraft state and health management; hazards include precipitation, winds, wind shears, microbursts, clear air turbulence, and icing","level":2,"hasChildren":false,"selected":false,"isPrimary":true,"hasInteriorContent":true},"primaryTxTree":[[{"taxonomyNodeId":11456,"taxonomyRootId":8817,"code":"TX16","title":"Air Traffic Management and Range Tracking Systems","level":1,"hasChildren":true,"selected":false,"hasInteriorContent":true},{"taxonomyNodeId":11458,"taxonomyRootId":8817,"parentNodeId":11456,"code":"TX16.2","title":"Weather and Environment","description":"This area aims to develop tools that provide weather and environmental information to avoid inclement weather and environmental conditions affecting ground and flight-deck operations.","exampleTechnologies":"Improved weather & hazard awareness detection, prediction and alerting technologies, including aircraft state and health management; hazards include precipitation, winds, wind shears, microbursts, clear air turbulence, and icing","level":2,"hasChildren":false,"selected":true,"hasInteriorContent":true}]],"technologyOutcomes":[],"libraryItems":[],"states":[{"abbreviation":"VA","country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"name":"Virginia","stateTerritoryId":7,"isTerritory":false}],"endDateString":"Jul 2005","startDateString":"Jan 2005"}}