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":"Thin-ply composites are being considered by NASA for space exploration applications, where the suppression of microcracks could give rise to linerless cryogenic tanks. In this proposed Phase I STTR effort, material testing coupled with health monitoring techniques will be used to quantify damage accumulation within composite materials, both standard ply thickness and of the thin-ply design. A multi-scale physics based approach, verified with empirical data, will be used to develop a design tool capable of predicting the useable life of a composite structure subjected to cyclic loads. A fracture mechanics based model in a multi-scale framework is proposed as a design tool for modeling thin-ply laminates. The key variable of the model, the microcracking critical energy release rate (CERR), is to be calibrated to quasi-static and fatigue testing. Acoustic emission (AE) monitoring will be used to quantify the crack density as a function of load history. The model will be interrogated with CERRs to best match the crack density as a function of load observed during the experiments. If the CERR is indeed a material property, the same value should exist regardless of ply thickness and fiber architecture. The design tool will include a stand-alone program to perform this calibration of the CERR for cross-ply laminates. Additionally, a User Material (UMAT) will be written to link the microcracking model to a structural level model in a commercial finite element code.","benefits":"The program will directly benefit the advancement towards linerless cryogenic tanks for space exploration applications. Structural components in both manned and unmanned vehicles will benefit from the thin-ply composites by increasing design allowables resulting in thinner and lighter structures. Additionally, Structural Health Monitoring Systems (SHMS) and Health and Usage Monitoring Systems (HUMS) are both technologies that aim to improve component life prediction through the analysis of operational data collected by sensors. The correlation between AE signal accumulation and crack density within composite parts is a powerful tool for any industry currently using composite materials. This technology can give real time information regarding the health of the composite part, allowing for efficient servicing and/or replacement of parts.