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":"As NASA missions continue to extend the horizon beyond near-Earth missions, higher performance systems must evolve to address the challenges of reduced power resources, longer mission durations, higher radiation exposure, and more broadly, harsher space environments. The vision of the low-temperature and input power Deep Space Cryocooler System (DSCS) is to advance the state of the art in Cryocooler systems by developing a low-cost single stage cryocooler, designed to target low heat rejection temperatures (150K) and low cold-tip temperatures (35K), and integrate it with a set of high reliability, micro-sized Low Cost Cryocooler Electronics (μLCCE) customized to operate efficiently at very low power levels (10W). Additionally, the low-cost, light weight, and small size of the DSCS will enable instrumentation on miniature satellite platforms. A key objective of this effort is to develop and demonstrate cryogenic cooling technologies for science measurement capabilities with smaller, more affordable spacecraft and concurrently reducing system risk, cost, size, and development time, consistent with NASA SBIR Science Subtopic S1.09. In the Phase I effort, the uLCCE brassboard will improve upon the mLCCE (TRL6 in 2016) design by evaluating a handful of candidate improvements that will reduce the SWaP requirements of the electronics. Detailed circuit modeling will verify performance of key parameters , which will then inform the final schematic and layout of the uLCCE. The accompanying Thermo-Mechanical Unit will be designed by Lockheed Martin. The conceptual coldhead design leverages their existing TRL 6 Microcryocooler, and will introduce design improvements to target the low heat reject and cold-tip temperatures specified in this solicitation. The design approach will be confirmed with detailed thermodynamic modeling. A prototype uLCCE and upgraded microcryocooler will be built and integration tested in a future Phase II effort.","benefits":"NASA's Interplanetary, Solar System, and Astrophysics missions are examples of the type of deep-space mission we are targeting with this proposed effort. A complete system that can enable science instruments to be deployed on small, low-cost spacecraft will greatly extend NASA's R&D capabilities. Past MCS and CCS programs laid the groundwork for miniaturization of Iris Technology's CCE, while the DSCS venture will bring that capability to even lower power, smaller size, deep-space missions. The Europa missions could immediately benefit from this product, and as technology advancements are pushing boundaries deeper into Space, the DSCS can also serve as a foundation for future planetary exploration. The New Frontiers initiative has already launched several probes to Pluto, Jupiter, and distant asteroids, and has the future mission scope of exploring Saturn, additional asteroids, or Venus. These destinations would require similar performance targets put forth by this SBIR solicitation. Additionally, NASA is on the verge of launching Mars Cube One, the first demonstration of CubeSats that have flow in deep space. If proven successful, the number of CubeSat missions reaching deeper into space is also likely to increase. The DSCS's small size and weight, and low power requirements make CubeSats an ideal platform, and they would increase the scientific capability of these small satellites.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":"As NASA missions continue to extend the horizon beyond near-Earth missions, higher performance systems must evolve to address the challenges of reduced power resources, longer mission durations, higher radiation exposure, and more broadly, harsher space environments. The vision of the low-temperature and input power Deep Space Cryocooler System (DSCS) is to advance the state of the art in Cryocooler systems by developing a low-cost single stage cryocooler, designed to target low heat rejection temperatures (150K) and low cold-tip temperatures (35K), and integrate it with a set of high reliability, micro-sized Low Cost Cryocooler Electronics (μLCCE) customized to operate efficiently at very low power levels (10W). Additionally, the low-cost, light weight, and small size of the DSCS will enable instrumentation on miniature satellite platforms. A key objective of this effort is to develop and demonstrate cryogenic cooling technologies for science measurement capabilities with smaller, more affordable spacecraft and concurrently reducing system risk, cost, size, and development time, consistent with NASA SBIR Science Subtopic S1.09. In the Phase I effort, the uLCCE brassboard will improve upon the mLCCE (TRL6 in 2016) design by evaluating a handful of candidate improvements that will reduce the SWaP requirements of the electronics. Detailed circuit modeling will verify performance of key parameters , which will then inform the final schematic and layout of the uLCCE. The accompanying Thermo-Mechanical Unit will be designed by Lockheed Martin. The conceptual coldhead design leverages their existing TRL 6 Microcryocooler, and will introduce design improvements to target the low heat reject and cold-tip temperatures specified in this solicitation. The design approach will be confirmed with detailed thermodynamic modeling. A prototype uLCCE and upgraded microcryocooler will be built and integration tested in a future Phase II effort.","benefits":"NASA's Interplanetary, Solar System, and Astrophysics missions are examples of the type of deep-space mission we are targeting with this proposed effort. A complete system that can enable science instruments to be deployed on small, low-cost spacecraft will greatly extend NASA's R&D capabilities. Past MCS and CCS programs laid the groundwork for miniaturization of Iris Technology's CCE, while the DSCS venture will bring that capability to even lower power, smaller size, deep-space missions. The Europa missions could immediately benefit from this product, and as technology advancements are pushing boundaries deeper into Space, the DSCS can also serve as a foundation for future planetary exploration. The New Frontiers initiative has already launched several probes to Pluto, Jupiter, and distant asteroids, and has the future mission scope of exploring Saturn, additional asteroids, or Venus. These destinations would require similar performance targets put forth by this SBIR solicitation. Additionally, NASA is on the verge of launching Mars Cube One, the first demonstration of CubeSats that have flow in deep space. If proven successful, the number of CubeSat missions reaching deeper into space is also likely to increase. The DSCS's small size and weight, and low power requirements make CubeSats an ideal platform, and they would increase the scientific capability of these small satellites.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":"As NASA missions continue to extend the horizon beyond near-Earth missions, higher performance systems must evolve to address the challenges of reduced power resources, longer mission durations, higher radiation exposure, and more broadly, harsher space environments. The vision of the low-temperature and input power Deep Space Cryocooler System (DSCS) is to advance the state of the art in Cryocooler systems by developing a low-cost single stage cryocooler, designed to target low heat rejection temperatures (150K) and low cold-tip temperatures (35K), and integrate it with a set of high reliability, micro-sized Low Cost Cryocooler Electronics (μLCCE) customized to operate efficiently at very low power levels (10W). Additionally, the low-cost, light weight, and small size of the DSCS will enable instrumentation on miniature satellite platforms. A key objective of this effort is to develop and demonstrate cryogenic cooling technologies for science measurement capabilities with smaller, more affordable spacecraft and concurrently reducing system risk, cost, size, and development time, consistent with NASA SBIR Science Subtopic S1.09. In the Phase I effort, the uLCCE brassboard will improve upon the mLCCE (TRL6 in 2016) design by evaluating a handful of candidate improvements that will reduce the SWaP requirements of the electronics. Detailed circuit modeling will verify performance of key parameters , which will then inform the final schematic and layout of the uLCCE. The accompanying Thermo-Mechanical Unit will be designed by Lockheed Martin. The conceptual coldhead design leverages their existing TRL 6 Microcryocooler, and will introduce design improvements to target the low heat reject and cold-tip temperatures specified in this solicitation. The design approach will be confirmed with detailed thermodynamic modeling. A prototype uLCCE and upgraded microcryocooler will be built and integration tested in a future Phase II effort.","benefits":"NASA's Interplanetary, Solar System, and Astrophysics missions are examples of the type of deep-space mission we are targeting with this proposed effort. A complete system that can enable science instruments to be deployed on small, low-cost spacecraft will greatly extend NASA's R&D capabilities. Past MCS and CCS programs laid the groundwork for miniaturization of Iris Technology's CCE, while the DSCS venture will bring that capability to even lower power, smaller size, deep-space missions. The Europa missions could immediately benefit from this product, and as technology advancements are pushing boundaries deeper into Space, the DSCS can also serve as a foundation for future planetary exploration. The New Frontiers initiative has already launched several probes to Pluto, Jupiter, and distant asteroids, and has the future mission scope of exploring Saturn, additional asteroids, or Venus. These destinations would require similar performance targets put forth by this SBIR solicitation. Additionally, NASA is on the verge of launching Mars Cube One, the first demonstration of CubeSats that have flow in deep space. If proven successful, the number of CubeSat missions reaching deeper into space is also likely to increase. The DSCS's small size and weight, and low power requirements make CubeSats an ideal platform, and they would increase the scientific capability of these small satellites.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 Iris Technology and Lockheed Martin team has developed a cryocooler system design which meets the S1.09 SBIR topic goals at twice the desired cooling capacity (0.4W at 35K) delivering Engineering Model hardware under DSCS Phase II for both the cryocooler and its optimized control electronics. The DSCS Program builds off the previous successes of the USAF \"MicroSat Cryocooler System (MCS)\" Program (FA9453-14-C-0294). The DSCS extends the Miniature Low Cost Cryocooler Electronics (mLCCE) performance reducing size, weight and power of the deep-space rad-hard integrated circuits. The DSCS enhances the thermo-mechanical unit with a new inertance tube and regenerator packing to optimize the cryocooler design for 35K cold-tip and 150K heat rejection temperatures. To achieve this higher performance, the DSCS cryocooler is based on the Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company (LMSSC) TRL-6 High Power Microcryocooler. LMSSC's initial trade study shows the predicted performance of the High Power coldhead is significantly better than the standard coldhead. This is largely due to a greater regenerator volume, and thus greater regenerator heat capacity. The High Power coldhead heat exchangers are slightly larger, increasing their effectiveness and improving performance. In addition, Iris proposes the Phase I electronics design will be reviewed against sample planetary mission parts lists in Phase II. The uLCCE provides a mission-critical, radiation tolerant system solution, easily extendible to a radiation hardened flight platform.","benefits":"There are currently very few cryocooler applications utilizing a cryogenic heat rejection temperature, mainly because, until recently, there have been no long-life cryocooler compressors capable of operating at cryogenic temperatures. However, the recent demonstration of extended operation of Lockheed Martin's microcryocooler compressor at temperatures as low as 130 K has opened up new deep space cryocooler applications utilizing the capability of rejecting heat at very low temperature; for example, cooling JPL's MISE spectrometer for the Europa mission. Having a proven cryocooler technology will very likely generate interest in designing cryogenic missions utilizing very low heat rejection temperatures to improve cooler efficiency, reduce the required electrical power and rejected heat, reduce the cryocooler size and mass, and enable cooling at lower cold tip temperatures. It is also very likely that cryocooler systems will be developed that make use of this proposed cooler in new cooling configurations. For example, the proposed cooler could be mated to more traditional second cooler which would provide the 150K or lower heat rejection temperature, potentially leading to greater system efficiency, since both coolers could be independently optimized.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":"As NASA missions continue to extend the horizon beyond near-Earth missions, higher performance systems must evolve to address the challenges of reduced power resources, longer mission durations, higher radiation exposure, and more broadly, harsher space environments. The vision of the low-temperature and input power Deep Space Cryocooler System (DSCS) is to advance the state of the art in Cryocooler systems by developing a low-cost single stage cryocooler, designed to target low heat rejection temperatures (150K) and low cold-tip temperatures (35K), and integrate it with a set of high reliability, micro-sized Low Cost Cryocooler Electronics (μLCCE) customized to operate efficiently at very low power levels (10W). Additionally, the low-cost, light weight, and small size of the DSCS will enable instrumentation on miniature satellite platforms. A key objective of this effort is to develop and demonstrate cryogenic cooling technologies for science measurement capabilities with smaller, more affordable spacecraft and concurrently reducing system risk, cost, size, and development time, consistent with NASA SBIR Science Subtopic S1.09. In the Phase I effort, the uLCCE brassboard will improve upon the mLCCE (TRL6 in 2016) design by evaluating a handful of candidate improvements that will reduce the SWaP requirements of the electronics. Detailed circuit modeling will verify performance of key parameters , which will then inform the final schematic and layout of the uLCCE. The accompanying Thermo-Mechanical Unit will be designed by Lockheed Martin. The conceptual coldhead design leverages their existing TRL 6 Microcryocooler, and will introduce design improvements to target the low heat reject and cold-tip temperatures specified in this solicitation. The design approach will be confirmed with detailed thermodynamic modeling. A prototype uLCCE and upgraded microcryocooler will be built and integration tested in a future Phase II effort.","benefits":"NASA's Interplanetary, Solar System, and Astrophysics missions are examples of the type of deep-space mission we are targeting with this proposed effort. A complete system that can enable science instruments to be deployed on small, low-cost spacecraft will greatly extend NASA's R&D capabilities. Past MCS and CCS programs laid the groundwork for miniaturization of Iris Technology's CCE, while the DSCS venture will bring that capability to even lower power, smaller size, deep-space missions. The Europa missions could immediately benefit from this product, and as technology advancements are pushing boundaries deeper into Space, the DSCS can also serve as a foundation for future planetary exploration. The New Frontiers initiative has already launched several probes to Pluto, Jupiter, and distant asteroids, and has the future mission scope of exploring Saturn, additional asteroids, or Venus. These destinations would require similar performance targets put forth by this SBIR solicitation. Additionally, NASA is on the verge of launching Mars Cube One, the first demonstration of CubeSats that have flow in deep space. If proven successful, the number of CubeSat missions reaching deeper into space is also likely to increase. The DSCS's small size and weight, and low power requirements make CubeSats an ideal platform, and they would increase the scientific capability of these small satellites.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 Iris Technology and Lockheed Martin team has developed a cryocooler system design which meets the S1.09 SBIR topic goals at twice the desired cooling capacity (0.4W at 35K) delivering Engineering Model hardware under DSCS Phase II for both the cryocooler and its optimized control electronics. The DSCS Program builds off the previous successes of the USAF \"MicroSat Cryocooler System (MCS)\" Program (FA9453-14-C-0294). The DSCS extends the Miniature Low Cost Cryocooler Electronics (mLCCE) performance reducing size, weight and power of the deep-space rad-hard integrated circuits. The DSCS enhances the thermo-mechanical unit with a new inertance tube and regenerator packing to optimize the cryocooler design for 35K cold-tip and 150K heat rejection temperatures. To achieve this higher performance, the DSCS cryocooler is based on the Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company (LMSSC) TRL-6 High Power Microcryocooler. LMSSC's initial trade study shows the predicted performance of the High Power coldhead is significantly better than the standard coldhead. This is largely due to a greater regenerator volume, and thus greater regenerator heat capacity. The High Power coldhead heat exchangers are slightly larger, increasing their effectiveness and improving performance. In addition, Iris proposes the Phase I electronics design will be reviewed against sample planetary mission parts lists in Phase II. The uLCCE provides a mission-critical, radiation tolerant system solution, easily extendible to a radiation hardened flight platform.","benefits":"There are currently very few cryocooler applications utilizing a cryogenic heat rejection temperature, mainly because, until recently, there have been no long-life cryocooler compressors capable of operating at cryogenic temperatures. However, the recent demonstration of extended operation of Lockheed Martin's microcryocooler compressor at temperatures as low as 130 K has opened up new deep space cryocooler applications utilizing the capability of rejecting heat at very low temperature; for example, cooling JPL's MISE spectrometer for the Europa mission. Having a proven cryocooler technology will very likely generate interest in designing cryogenic missions utilizing very low heat rejection temperatures to improve cooler efficiency, reduce the required electrical power and rejected heat, reduce the cryocooler size and mass, and enable cooling at lower cold tip temperatures. It is also very likely that cryocooler systems will be developed that make use of this proposed cooler in new cooling configurations. For example, the proposed cooler could be mated to more traditional second cooler which would provide the 150K or lower heat rejection temperature, potentially leading to greater system efficiency, since both coolers could be independently optimized.