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 Innovation Laboratory, Inc. builds a control system which controls the topology of an air traffic flow network and the network flow properties which enables Air Traffic Management (ATM) to adapt to hazardous weather constraints and provide high capacity flows in the National Airspace System (NAS). The Network Flow Organizer automatically adjusts the flows of air traffic with respect to weather hazards and Special Use Airspace (SUA) constraints and allows for parallel flows along the network (a 2-times (2x) to 3-times (3x) increase in today's flow rates) without conflicts at intersection points.","benefits":"The proposed software has application to military systems as well. In wartime, the constraints are very dynamic and automated airspace usage planning is required to support the pilot and the mission. The airspace may be constrained by weather, but also by hostile threats, both moving and stationary. With minor modifications, our solution approach for estimating the avenues of approach and for estimates of total troop movement flow rates.","releaseStatus":"Released","status":"Completed","viewCount":785,"destinationType":[],"trlBegin":1,"trlCurrent":1,"trlEnd":2,"lastUpdated":"01/27/25","favorited":false,"detailedFunding":false,"projectContacts":[{"contactId":172120,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Gregory","lastName":"Wong","fullName":"Gregory L Wong","fullNameInverted":"Wong, Gregory L","middleInitial":"L","email":"gregory.l.wong@nasa.gov","receiveEmail":"Subscribed_User","projectContactRole":"Project_Manager","projectContactId":13,"projectId":7896,"programContactRolePretty":"","projectContactRolePretty":"Project Manager"},{"contactId":246499,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Joseph","lastName":"Krozel","fullName":"Joseph Krozel","fullNameInverted":"Krozel, Joseph","receiveEmail":"Subscribed_User","projectContactRole":"Principal_Investigator","projectContactId":27975,"projectId":7896,"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":4941,"organizationName":"Ames Research Center","acronym":"ARC","organizationType":"NASA_Center","city":"Moffett Field","stateTerritoryId":59,"stateTerritory":{"abbreviation":"CA","country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"name":"California","stateTerritoryId":59,"isTerritory":false},"country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"zipCode":"94035","projectId":7896,"projectOrganizationId":2148,"organizationRole":"Lead_Organization","canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"Lead Organization","organizationTypePretty":"NASA Center"},"otherOrganizations":[{"organizationId":4941,"organizationName":"Ames Research Center","acronym":"ARC","organizationType":"NASA_Center","city":"Moffett Field","stateTerritoryId":59,"stateTerritory":{"abbreviation":"CA","country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"name":"California","stateTerritoryId":59,"isTerritory":false},"country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"zipCode":"94035","projectId":7896,"projectOrganizationId":2148,"organizationRole":"Lead_Organization","canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"Lead Organization","organizationTypePretty":"NASA Center"},{"organizationId":2749,"organizationName":"The Innovation Laboratory, Inc.","organizationType":"Industry","city":"Portland","stateTerritoryId":50,"stateTerritory":{"abbreviation":"OR","country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"name":"Oregon","stateTerritoryId":50,"isTerritory":false},"country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"zipCode":"97201","dunsNumber":"802036496","uei":"CAC1FEN4MFB3","cageCode":"4TJ32","congressionalDistrict":"Oregon 01","msiCategories":[],"msiData":{},"setAsideData":["Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB)"],"projectId":7896,"projectOrganizationId":15282,"organizationRole":"Supporting_Organization","canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"Supporting Organization","organizationTypePretty":"Industry"}],"primaryTx":{"taxonomyNodeId":11459,"taxonomyRootId":8817,"parentNodeId":11456,"code":"TX16.3","title":"Traffic Management Concepts","description":"This area covers technologies and procedures that enable improved efficiency and predictability of ground, departure, en route, and descent portions of flight for high-density mixed crewed and uncrewed vehicles.","exampleTechnologies":"Deployment of NextGen technologies including enhanced required navigation performance (RNP) (required navigation performance) arrival, integrated arrivals/departures/surface operations, and integrated air-ground applied weather demonstration; operator prioritization services integrated with air navigation service provider tools; safety analyses for new airspace concepts; fully integrated, service-based ground, flight deck and operations management technologies; scalable integration of airspace and application technologies.","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":11459,"taxonomyRootId":8817,"parentNodeId":11456,"code":"TX16.3","title":"Traffic Management Concepts","description":"This area covers technologies and procedures that enable improved efficiency and predictability of ground, departure, en route, and descent portions of flight for high-density mixed crewed and uncrewed vehicles.","exampleTechnologies":"Deployment of NextGen technologies including enhanced required navigation performance (RNP) (required navigation performance) arrival, integrated arrivals/departures/surface operations, and integrated air-ground applied weather demonstration; operator prioritization services integrated with air navigation service provider tools; safety analyses for new airspace concepts; fully integrated, service-based ground, flight deck and operations management technologies; scalable integration of airspace and application technologies.","level":2,"hasChildren":false,"selected":true,"hasInteriorContent":true}]],"technologyOutcomes":[],"libraryItems":[],"states":[{"abbreviation":"CA","country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"name":"California","stateTerritoryId":59,"isTerritory":false},{"abbreviation":"OR","country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"name":"Oregon","stateTerritoryId":50,"isTerritory":false}],"endDateString":"Jul 2009","startDateString":"Jan 2009"}}