HAMPTON, Va., Aug. 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA is
partnering with U.S. companies and small businesses to develop
technologies that have the potential to significantly benefit the
economy and future NASA missions.
Recent announcements of selections for the agency's Tipping
Point solicitation and Phase II of NASA's competitive Small
Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program include several
proposals with NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
NASA selected 10 Tipping Point proposals totaling approximately
$44 million and Langley is a partner
on one $3 million proposal. The
agency also selected 20 research and technology proposals -- valued
at $15 million -- from 19 American
small businesses for STTR Phase II and Langley will manage three of
the selected proposals totaling $2.25
million.
"Building partnerships is important," said Kim Cannon, technology transition lead at
Langley. "It allows NASA to do the fundamental work that we're good
at and it allows industry to leverage that work and build their
success."
Langley will collaborate with Blue Origin on their Tipping Point
proposal to advance sensor suites that would enable landing
anywhere on the lunar surface. NASA's Johnson Space Center and
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory are the other partners. This
project will mature critical technologies that enable precision and
soft landing on the Moon. The project team will integrate Langley's
navigation doppler lidar technology, Terrain Relative Navigation
(TRN), and altimetry sensors and conduct flight tests prior to
lunar mission implementation. Testing will be performed at
approximately 100 km altitude on board the Blue Origin New Shepard
vertical takeoff vertical landing (VTVL) suborbital vehicle. The
resulting sensor suite will enable precision landing anywhere on
the lunar surface.
The Tipping Point solicitation targeted three Space
Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) strategic focus areas:
Expand Utilization of Space, Enable Efficient and Safe
Transportation Into and Through Space, and Increase Access to
Planetary Surfaces. A technology is considered at a "tipping
point" if investment in a ground or flight demonstration will
result in significantly maturing the technology and improving the
company's ability to bring it to market.
Through firm-fixed-price contracts, STMD will make milestone
payments that cover as much as $10
million per award, over a performance period of up to 36
months. Each industry partner is required to contribute a minimum
of 25 percent of total cost for each project.
The selected STTR proposals cover a variety of research and
development needs, including:
- Development of an optic fiber-based hybrid spectroscope, Laser
& Plasma Technologies, LLC, based in Hampton, Virginia, with the University of Virginia
- Design and Process Development of Thin-Ply Composites,
Composites Automation, LLC, based in Delaware with the University of Delaware
- Integrated Computational Material Engineering Technologies for
Additive Manufacturing, QuesTek Innovations LLC, based in
Illinois with the University of Pittsburgh
"NASA is a forward-looking agency that is on the cutting edge
and that's exciting to us," said Mool
Gupta, Laser & Plasma Technologies LLC chairman and
technical advisor. "We also want to find solutions to the problems
out there that are not easily solved. This is a great partnership
that allows us to leverage resources to help meet our goals and
NASA's mission goals"
STTR supports NASA's future missions in the areas of
aeronautics, science, human exploration and operations, and space
technology and benefits the U.S. economy by encouraging small
businesses and research institutions to develop innovative ideas
that meet the specific research and development needs of the
federal government. The program is intended to stimulate
technological innovation in the private sector, increase the
commercial application of research results, encourage participation
of socially and economically disadvantaged persons and women-owned
small businesses, and foster technology transfer through
cooperative research and development between small businesses and
research institutions.
Proposals were selected according to their technical merit and
feasibility, in addition to the experience, qualifications and
facilities of the submitting organization. Additional criteria
included effectiveness of the work plan and commercial potential.
Only small businesses awarded Phase I contracts are eligible to
submit a proposal for a Phase II funding agreement. Phase II is
focused on the development, demonstration and delivery of the
innovation. Phase II projects are chosen as a result of competitive
evaluations and based on selection criteria provided in the
Solicitation. Phase II contracts last for 24 months with a maximum
funding of $750,000.
The STTR program is sponsored by STMD and managed at NASA's Ames
Research Center.
STMD is responsible for developing the cross-cutting,
pioneering, new technologies and capabilities needed by the agency
to achieve its current and future missions.
For more information about the Tipping Point selections,
visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-announces-new-partnerships-to-develop-space-exploration-technologies
For a complete list of the 2017 STTR selections, visit:
https:/sbir.nasa.gov/prg_selection/node/60150
For more information about NASA's investment in space
technology, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/spacetech
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SOURCE NASA