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":"Oxygen (O2) contained within waste carbon dioxide (CO2) is a vital resource during long-duration, manned missions that must be reclaimed by Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) hardware. Current CO2 reduction technology to recapture oxygen as water utilizes the Sabatier reaction, in which, two moles of water and one mole of methane are produced for each mole of CO2 reduced. Unfortunately, only half of the hydrogen consumed in the reaction can be recovered by water electrolysis. In contrast, the Bosch reaction produces water and elemental carbon, recovering all hydrogen consumed and closing the O2 - CO2 reduction loop. Previous experience has shown the primary problem with the Bosch reaction is carbon production, which deactivates the catalyst and eventually plugs the reactor. An innovative Regenerative Bosch Reactor (RBR) is proposed to overcome this problem, in which, a bed of small spherical ferromagnetic catalyst beads is periodically agitated using mechanical or magnetic forces to abrade carbon from the catalyst surface. Carbon is expelled from the RBR by the gas stream and collected downstream. The Phase I project will demonstrate catalyst regeneration. A prototype RBR will be designed, assembled, and thoroughly tested during the Phase II program providing NASA with a test bed for independent evaluation. The RBR will improve atmosphere loop closure and lower the ESM for CO2 reduction by recovering all of the hydrogen reductant.","benefits":"There are two major areas for commercial application of the RBR technology. The first area concerns the mitigation of carbon dioxide release into the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas. In this case, industrial processes can be retrofitted with a RBR system that converts carbon dioxide to a collectable solid, carbon, and a harmless gas, water vapor. The second commercialization area concerns reactor technology, and in particular, applications where catalyst fouling by reaction byproducts are a significant concern. As such, the RBR design can be modified to accommodate a variety of catalysts used in a variety of reactions and reactors.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":"Oxygen (O2) contained within waste carbon dioxide (CO2) is a vital resource during long-duration, manned missions that must be reclaimed by Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) hardware. Current CO2 reduction technology to recapture oxygen as water utilizes the Sabatier reaction, in which, two moles of water and one mole of methane are produced for each mole of CO2 reduced. Unfortunately, only half of the hydrogen consumed in the reaction can be recovered by water electrolysis. In contrast, the Bosch reaction produces water and elemental carbon, recovering all hydrogen consumed and closing the O2 - CO2 reduction loop. Previous experience has shown the primary problem with the Bosch reaction is carbon production, which deactivates the catalyst and eventually plugs the reactor. An innovative Regenerative Bosch Reactor (RBR) is proposed to overcome this problem, in which, a bed of small spherical ferromagnetic catalyst beads is periodically agitated using mechanical or magnetic forces to abrade carbon from the catalyst surface. Carbon is expelled from the RBR by the gas stream and collected downstream. The Phase I project will demonstrate catalyst regeneration. A prototype RBR will be designed, assembled, and thoroughly tested during the Phase II program providing NASA with a test bed for independent evaluation. The RBR will improve atmosphere loop closure and lower the ESM for CO2 reduction by recovering all of the hydrogen reductant.","benefits":"There are two major areas for commercial application of the RBR technology. The first area concerns the mitigation of carbon dioxide release into the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas. In this case, industrial processes can be retrofitted with a RBR system that converts carbon dioxide to a collectable solid, carbon, and a harmless gas, water vapor. The second commercialization area concerns reactor technology, and in particular, applications where catalyst fouling by reaction byproducts are a significant concern. As such, the RBR design can be modified to accommodate a variety of catalysts used in a variety of reactions and reactors.