Date: April 10th 2008

April 9, 2008

Sonja Alexander Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1761 sonja r alexander@nasa gov

RELEASE: 08-094

NASA SELECTS 9 SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROJECTS

WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected nine proposals for negotiation of Phase 2 contract awards in the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program The selected projects have a total value of approximately $5 4 million The contracts will be awarded to nine hi-tech firms partnered with nine universities in 12 states

The STTR program is a highly competitive, three-phase award system It provides qualified small businesses -- including women-owned and disadvantaged firms -- with opportunities to propose innovative ideas that meet specific research and development needs of the federal government In addition, the STTR program requires a collaborative research effort between small business and research institutions

The Small Business Administration (SBA) manages the STTR program for the federal government NASA is one of the federal agencies required by the STTR program to reserve a portion of its research and development funds for awards to small business and works closely with SBA to ensure compliance with federal regulations

NASA's Innovative Partnerships Program (IPP) manages the STTR program as part of its focus on emerging technologies and efforts to advance technological innovation for NASA purposes NASA also partners with U S industry to introduce pioneering technologies into NASA missions and transition them into commercially available products and services

As an investment opportunity, STTR innovations address specific technology gaps in agency mission programs, provide a foundation for future technology needs, and are complementary to other NASA research investments

Participating firms and research institutions submitted 25 Phase 2 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

Phase 1 was feasibility study to evaluate the scientific and technical merit of an idea Awards are for up to twelve months in amounts up to $100,000 Phase 2 expands on the results of the development in Phase 1 Awards are for up to two years in amounts up to $600,000 Phase 3 is for the commercialization of the results of Phase 2 and requires the use of private sector or non-STTR federal funding These NASA awards are for the second-phase in this competitive process

Some examples of STTR technologies being pursued in current selected proposals include:

New photovoltaic power systems capable of operating in harsh environments with high temperature and extreme radiation exposures These systems use materials developed for short optical wavelength and high radio frequency power applications The new systems could be used in power systems for exploratory spacecraft

Optically-based sensors for making temperature and other complex measurements in propulsion systems in ground and flight test environments The sensors could be used in both new and retrofit commercial aircraft as control sensors for propulsion systems

NASA's STTR program is managed at NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif , with executive oversight from NASA Headquarters in Washington Individual projects are managed by NASA's field centers

For a list of selected companies, visit:

http://sbir nasa gov

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