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":"X-Ray detector technologies that possess improved number of readout pixels, lower power, faster readout rates, greater quantum efficiency, and enhanced energy resolution are critical to space exploration and scientific research missions. This proposal identifies a transformative new approach for X-ray detection using ion-sensitive nanomaterials. Recent work has shown that certain nanomaterials are extremely sensitive to ionized gas molecules, which enables them to detect even individual ions. These sensors can be utilized as a core element within an ionizable gas-filled volume that responds strongly to X-Rays. This project proposes to develop self-standing X-Ray detector elements with higher quantum gain with reduced power consumption compared to conventional X-Ray detectors, without sacrificing readout speed and miniaturizability. This development will be carried out by an optimization of the ion-sensing core nanomaterial, the sensing geometry, and the ionizable front-end gas volume architecture. These optimized materials and architectures will be combined with low-power fast readout electronics at the back-end to form self-standing X-Ray detector elements. This project will combine the state-of-the-art in materials science, physics, detector technology, and electrical engineering to address an issue of enormous scientific importance and technical value. The successful development of such a detector element will enable the project to move into phase II, where prototype solar X-ray detectors with small independent pixels (< 250 µm) and fast read-out (>10,000 count/s/pixel) over an energy range from < 5 keV to 300 keV will be developed. This technology will have the reach to influence a number of NASA missions beyond Solar observation, such as deep-space imaging and navigation. It will also have a huge potential for commercial applications in industrial testing and process control, medical diagnostics, and advanced scientific research in materials science and beyond.","benefits":"The proposed work will eliminate high-voltage requirements and reduce power consumption, reduce payload, and enable nanometer size pixels. Combined, these advancements will enable: High-density arrays for X-ray astrophysics (imaging and spectroscopy) Low keV sensors for solar flare monitoring XNAV for Pulsars for autonomous navigationThe 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":"X-Ray detector technologies that possess improved number of readout pixels, lower power, faster readout rates, greater quantum efficiency, and enhanced energy resolution are critical to space exploration and scientific research missions. This proposal identifies a transformative new approach for X-ray detection using ion-sensitive nanomaterials. Recent work has shown that certain nanomaterials are extremely sensitive to ionized gas molecules, which enables them to detect even individual ions. These sensors can be utilized as a core element within an ionizable gas-filled volume that responds strongly to X-Rays. This project proposes to develop self-standing X-Ray detector elements with higher quantum gain with reduced power consumption compared to conventional X-Ray detectors, without sacrificing readout speed and miniaturizability. This development will be carried out by an optimization of the ion-sensing core nanomaterial, the sensing geometry, and the ionizable front-end gas volume architecture. These optimized materials and architectures will be combined with low-power fast readout electronics at the back-end to form self-standing X-Ray detector elements. This project will combine the state-of-the-art in materials science, physics, detector technology, and electrical engineering to address an issue of enormous scientific importance and technical value. The successful development of such a detector element will enable the project to move into phase II, where prototype solar X-ray detectors with small independent pixels (< 250 µm) and fast read-out (>10,000 count/s/pixel) over an energy range from < 5 keV to 300 keV will be developed. This technology will have the reach to influence a number of NASA missions beyond Solar observation, such as deep-space imaging and navigation. It will also have a huge potential for commercial applications in industrial testing and process control, medical diagnostics, and advanced scientific research in materials science and beyond.","benefits":"The proposed work will eliminate high-voltage requirements and reduce power consumption, reduce payload, and enable nanometer size pixels. Combined, these advancements will enable: High-density arrays for X-ray astrophysics (imaging and spectroscopy) Low keV sensors for solar flare monitoring XNAV for Pulsars for autonomous navigation