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":"There is high value in simulating the nonlinear dynamics of stowing, deploying, and performance of deployable space structures, especially given the profound limitations of physical testing. Dynamic simulation can reduce the risk of developing new deployable space structures, including solar arrays, by predicting transient motions and loads during stowage, deployment, and mission-related maneuvers. Dynamic simulation can also be used to assess the efficacy of using motion control to mitigate the effect of accelerations on the response of the space structure. The proposed innovations of this proposal are: 1) Development of a general automated process to efficiently take a detailed hinge assembly model and simulate its range of motion while retrieving stiffness information for all degrees of freedom and convert that data to define a simple but accurate nonlinear point-to-point force for use in the solar array assembly model, 2) Development and simulation of a high-fidelity system-level model of the deployment dynamics of an commercial deployable solar array that was designed for use with a 6U cubesat, and 3) Review and evaluation of the hinge assembly simplification process and the modeling approach by an independent resource. The significance of the proposed innovation is: 1) This work builds upon previous simulation success with a split-tube solar array by adding a new automated method to efficiently develop an accurate but simplified representation of the connections used on rigid panel solar arrays, 2) This is an initial engagement with the products of the smallsat community and a commercial cubesat solar array will be simulated. The successful results may encourage the smallsat community to use this technology, thereby reducing technical risk, 3) The simulation of a commercial cubesat solar array in this project potentially leads to obtaining validation comparisons between the simulation and physical test results during a corresponding Phase II effort.","benefits":"NASA commercialization will follow a logical progression. First, the initial application will consist of the six functions to help simulate the nonlinear dynamics of roll-out solar arrays (developed in an earlier Phase I SBIR) and the two functions for the simplified representation of flexible hinges that will be developed in this Phase I SBIR. Second, the addition of the Phase II capabilities (simulation of lanyards and tape springs) and the integration of functions will result in a software application that will be appropriate to the overall market of organizations that design, evaluate and make purchasing decisions for deployable space structures. A variety of solar array configurations can be addressed as well as deployable antennas. Most NASA Centers could be approached with this application, as well as their contractors. The necessary documentation, tutorials, marketing materials and application licensing will be developed. MotionPort has prior experience in the development of such materials. The application will be marketed at technical conferences that NASA staff may attend, such as AIAA conferences. Marketing will include having a booth in the exhibition area as well as presenting a technical paper at selected conferences.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":"There is high value in simulating the nonlinear dynamics of stowing, deploying, and performance of deployable space structures, especially given the profound limitations of physical testing. Dynamic simulation can reduce the risk of developing new deployable space structures, including solar arrays, by predicting transient motions and loads during stowage, deployment, and mission-related maneuvers. Dynamic simulation can also be used to assess the efficacy of using motion control to mitigate the effect of accelerations on the response of the space structure. The proposed innovations of this proposal are: 1) Development of a general automated process to efficiently take a detailed hinge assembly model and simulate its range of motion while retrieving stiffness information for all degrees of freedom and convert that data to define a simple but accurate nonlinear point-to-point force for use in the solar array assembly model, 2) Development and simulation of a high-fidelity system-level model of the deployment dynamics of an commercial deployable solar array that was designed for use with a 6U cubesat, and 3) Review and evaluation of the hinge assembly simplification process and the modeling approach by an independent resource. The significance of the proposed innovation is: 1) This work builds upon previous simulation success with a split-tube solar array by adding a new automated method to efficiently develop an accurate but simplified representation of the connections used on rigid panel solar arrays, 2) This is an initial engagement with the products of the smallsat community and a commercial cubesat solar array will be simulated. The successful results may encourage the smallsat community to use this technology, thereby reducing technical risk, 3) The simulation of a commercial cubesat solar array in this project potentially leads to obtaining validation comparisons between the simulation and physical test results during a corresponding Phase II effort.","benefits":"NASA commercialization will follow a logical progression. First, the initial application will consist of the six functions to help simulate the nonlinear dynamics of roll-out solar arrays (developed in an earlier Phase I SBIR) and the two functions for the simplified representation of flexible hinges that will be developed in this Phase I SBIR. Second, the addition of the Phase II capabilities (simulation of lanyards and tape springs) and the integration of functions will result in a software application that will be appropriate to the overall market of organizations that design, evaluate and make purchasing decisions for deployable space structures. A variety of solar array configurations can be addressed as well as deployable antennas. Most NASA Centers could be approached with this application, as well as their contractors. The necessary documentation, tutorials, marketing materials and application licensing will be developed. MotionPort has prior experience in the development of such materials. The application will be marketed at technical conferences that NASA staff may attend, such as AIAA conferences. Marketing will include having a booth in the exhibition area as well as presenting a technical paper at selected conferences.