Small Businesses Help Us Explore Space!

Earlier this month,

Congress introduced a

resolution officially recognizing Nov. 24, 2018 as Small Business Saturday “to

increase awareness of the value of locally owned small businesses and the

impact of locally owned small businesses on the economy of the United States.”

This annual American

Express campaign began on the Saturday after Thanksgiving in 2010 to support

“local places that make our communities strong.”

For 60

years, we have supported and partnered with

small businesses across the country to pioneer the future of space exploration, scientific discovery and

aeronautics research.

Our Small Business Innovative

Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program funds the research, development and

demonstration of innovative technologies that help address space exploration

challenges and have significant potential for commercialization. In 2018, our

program awarded 555 contracts to small businesses for a total of $180.1

million.

NASA works with small

business Nanocomp Technologies Inc. of Merrimack, New Hampshire, to advance

manufacturing of carbon nanotube composite materials.

Our investments in small businesses help equip future

missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond by advancing our science and technology

capabilities. They also benefit the U.S. economy. The SBIR/STTR program’s 2017 Economic

Impact Report indicated

a $2.74 return for every dollar spent on awards—money well spent!

Small businesses

also contribute to scientific advances for the International Space Station as

well as here on Earth. Pancopia, Inc. in Hampton, Virginia, developed

an innovative, high-performance water recycling system to remove high levels of organic carbon and

nitrogen in wastewater. Recycling water in space saves money on resupply and

enables more Earth-independence and self-reliance. With the help of an SBIR

award, Pancopia is also working on a similar system for public wastewater that

has the potential to cut treatment expenses to less than half the current

costs.

Small businesses

also contribute to scientific advances for the International Space Station as

well as here on Earth. Pancopia, Inc. in Hampton, Virginia, developed

an innovative, high-performance water recycling system to remove high levels of organic carbon and

nitrogen in wastewater. Recycling water in space saves money on resupply and

enables more Earth-independence and self-reliance. With the help of an SBIR

award, Pancopia is also working on a similar system for public wastewater that

has the potential to cut treatment expenses to less than half the current

costs.

When NASA went to the private sector to develop deformable

mirror technology—a key component of starlight-blocking instruments—a

small business in Berkeley, California, applied for research and development funding through

SBIR to design extra-precision, segmented mirrors. This innovative approach for

a small deformable mirror made up of many tiny hexagonal segments enables

advanced control when paired with other optics.

Data collected by a

telescope using the Iris AO deformable mirror can be used to determine if the

target investigated in space is an exoplanet based on its orbit, and if the

exoplanet has atmosphere using color spectrum imaging analysis. The Iris AO technology

is currently being refined and prepared for inclusion in a future exoplanet

mission.

Does your small

business have a big idea? Your next opportunity to join our SBIR/STTR program

starts on Jan. 7, 2019, when our next solicitation opens. We’ll be seeking

new innovative ideas from small businesses and research institutions for

research, development and demonstration of innovative technologies. Go to

https://www.nasa.sbir.gov/ to learn more.

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