NASA Selects 215 Small Business Research And Technology Projects

"Investing in small businesses innovations designed to meet our future
mission needs is paramount for NASA's continued success," said Bobby
Braun, NASA chief technologist at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
"These awards will help small businesses across the country continue
to employ and develop the high-tech workforce America needs for the
future, while providing new knowledge and capabilities to NASA."

Innovative research areas among the selected proposals include:
-- A sensor system for the detection and monitoring of clear air
turbulence to help increase aviation safety
-- A process technology for converting carbon dioxide and methane for
power
co-generation and oxygen production
-- Large-format focal plane detectors capable of detecting ultraviolet
to infrared radiation for use in future telescopes and NASA space
missions
-- A software defined radio which supports reconfiguration,
flexibility and increased performance and bandwidth that could be
used for communications on the surface of Mars or the moon.

The SBIR program is designed to address specific technology gaps in
NASA missions while complementing other agency research investments.
Program results have benefited numerous NASA efforts, including
modern air traffic control systems, Earth observing spacecraft, the
space shuttle and International Space Station, and the Mars rovers.

The highly competitive SBIR program is a three-phase award system. It
provides qualified small businesses with opportunities to propose
unique ideas that meet specific research and development needs of the
federal government.

Phase I is a feasibility study to evaluate the scientific and
technical merit of an idea. Awards are for as long as six months, in
amounts up to $100,000. Phase II expands on the results of the
developments in Phase I, providing awards for as long as two years in
amounts up to $600,000. Phase III is for the commercialization of the
results of Phase II and requires the use of private sector or
non-SBIR federal funding.

Participants submitted 340 Phase II proposals. The criteria used to
select the winning proposals included technical merit and innovation,
Phase 1 results, value to NASA, commercial potential and company capabilities.

NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., manages the SBIR
program for the agency's Office of the Chief Technologist. NASA
collaborates with U.S. industry to develop pioneering technologies,
infuse them into agency missions and transition them into
commercially available products and services. NASA's 10 field centers
manage individual projects.

For a complete list of selected companies, visit:

http://sbir.nasa.gov

For more information about NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/oct

Source: NASA

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