NASA has a long history of supporting America’s entrepreneurs as
they develop technologies from ideas to commercial readiness. The agency’s
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is furthering that legacy
with 140 new Phase II awards to
127 U.S. small businesses that will help them move their innovations to market.
The awards to these small businesses, located across
34 states and Washington, D.C., total $105 million. NASA’s small business
program is dedicated to finding the most useful technologies for the agency and
the commercial marketplace, and sourcing those innovations from a diverse group
of entrepreneurs with different backgrounds and perspectives. The companies
chosen for Phase II funding include 33 women-owned, minority-owned, and
veteran-owned small businesses.
The awardees all received initial SBIR Phase I contracts in
2020 to demonstrate the merits of their innovations and show how they could
contribute to NASA’s efforts in human exploration, space technology, science,
and aeronautics. The Phase II awards will provide them each with up to $750,000
to advance their technologies toward potential commercialization. The companies
will spend up to two years developing, demonstrating, and delivering their
proposed projects.
“These small businesses received Phase I awards
towards the onset of the global pandemic and persevered through it to evolve
promising up-and-coming technology solutions,” said Jim Reuter, associate
administrator for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). “As the
government helps get small businesses back on track, we value their commitment
and dedication to supporting NASA missions and goals.”
InnoSys Inc., a woman-owned small business in Salt
Lake City, Utah, developed a concept for a camera that can operate in extremely
high temperatures – perhaps even on Venus where surface temperature can reach
900 degrees Fahrenheit. Its innovation replaces glass envelopes in conventional
imaging tubes with other materials, such as quartz or sapphire, that can
withstand harsh environments. Beyond space mission applications, the company
wants to create cameras for imaging fires or high-temperature furnaces up
close, and for inspecting nuclear reactor cores.
NASA aims to help small businesses like InnoSys focus
on commercialization. The program offers additional funding opportunities for
small businesses if their Phase II work proves successful, helping them find
customers outside the agency.
“The Phase II contract period is an exciting time, as
small businesses put their ideas into practice and develop prototypes
attractive to NASA and private investors,” said NASA SBIR Program Executive
Jason L. Kessler. “The selected technologies have displayed great potential
impacts for their respective sectors, and we are proud to continually invest in
today’s booming aerospace economy through these small businesses.”
California-based Micro Cooling Concepts has worked
with NASA’s SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program since
2004 on various thermal management innovations. This year, NASA selected the company
for a Phase II contract to build a lightweight, compact heat exchanger with
possible electrified aircraft propulsion applications. Using the development and lessons learned during
Phase I, Micro Cooling Concepts will advance its clean energy technology to
potentially support new aircraft configurations for NASA, the military, and the
commercial sector.
Tietronix Software Inc., a minority-owned small
business in Houston, was selected to mature a virtual medical “expert” that
incorporates artificial intelligence and augmented reality. In working through
its concept during Phase I, Tietronix Software recognized the need to
seamlessly integrate medical resources, knowledge, training, procedural
guidance, and diagnostic support. The system could provide astronauts with
medical autonomy during extended missions and benefit the military or other
organizations in places where medical professionals have limited availability.
NASA previously announced $45 million in Phase I awards to
another group of small businesses in March 2021.
NASA’s SBIR/STTR program is
part of STMD and managed by NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon
Valley.
To
view the full list of the latest NASA SBIR Phase II selections, visit:
https://sbir.nasa.gov/prg_selection/node/66870
May 13, 2021 RELEASE 21-064
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