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Company
Portfolio Data
Back to Company SearchSPACE LAB TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
UEI: WDXTJ9AHNZ68
Number of Employees: 5
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: Yes
SBIR/STTR Involvement
Year of first award: 2017
9
Phase I Awards
4
Phase II Awards
44.44%
Conversion Rate
$1,141,253
Phase I Dollars
$3,059,890
Phase II Dollars
$4,201,143
Total Awarded
Awards
A Smart Spectral Polarimetric Imager for Autonomous Plant Health Monitoring
Amount: $799,991 Topic: T6
For future long-duration space exploration missions, NASA expressed the need for plant systems that may provide a nutrient dense supplement to crew diet and possibly other life support functions, such as CO2 removal, O2 production, water recovery, and waste recycling.nbsp; Current and future infrastructure for plant growth include chambers with controlled environments.nbsp; To ensure optimal growing conditions in these chambers, the plants will require precise monitoring of health throughout the plant life cycle.nbsp; These monitoring systems will need to operate autonomously with little crew involvement.nbsp; Current plant monitoring instruments include multispectral and hyperspectral sensing that require post-process algorithms to detect physiological phenomena.nbsp; In Phase I, Space Lab Technologies (Space Lab) and the Space Plants Lab at the University of Florida (UF) investigated an improved approach for monitoring space plant health using a smart spectral polarimetric (SSP) imager to monitor morphological features and stresses.nbsp; The Phase II work builds upon the prototypes and analyses completed in Phase I, which includes a deliverable of an engineering demonstration unit (EDU) to NASA Kennedy Space Center.nbsp; The EDU is compact and intended for use in the ground-based plant growth chamber equivalents of the Advance Plant Habitat (APH) or VEGGIE.
Tagged as:
STTR
Phase II
2023
NASA
PHILM (Plant Habitat Ionic Liquid Membrane) for CO2 Control
Amount: $156,479 Topic: S15
Accurate control of the plant environment in space growth chambers is pivotal for space plant biology research. The PHILM (Plant Habitat Ionic Liquid Membrane) for CO2 control uses a supported ionic liquid membrane (SILM) to selectively separate COshy;2 from cabin air and then dose the gas into closed plant chambers to maintain constant CO2 concentrations. Utilizing respired cabin CO2 for plant growth has the advantages of 1) eliminating the continuous resupply mass for compressed cylinders and scrubbing cartridges and 2) reducing the load on the cabin CO2 removal system when larger scale crop production systems are integrated into the spacecraft. Membranes are attractive for spacecraft use because they require less power, fewer components, and less infrastructure volume than alternative methods, with no consumable mass, noise, or safety hazards. In support of NASArsquo;s priorities for space plant biology and space habitation system development, PHILMtrade; provides precise and timely CO2 control for plant growth chambers that is reliable, safe, compact, and energy efficient. PHILMtrade; can operate in microgravity and reduced gravity, advancing space plant biology research and space agriculture capabilities in space stations, transit vehicles, and surface habitats. PHILMtrade; is also readily transferrable to terrestrial botanical research and agriculture (plant growth chambers, greenhouses, and indoor farms). With PHILMtrade;, indoor farmers can enrich greenhouse CO2 for increased crop yield, by sequestering carbon from the atmosphere, a safer and more sustainable alternative. This Phase I project will establish feasibility and demonstrate proof of concept for supported ionic liquid membranes to maintain target CO2 concentrations in spacecraft plant growth chambers utilizing cabin air. The team will analyze a baseline system architecture, develop a breadboard prototype, and conduct experiments to validate performance predictions over expected operating conditions.
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase I
2022
NASA
A Smart Spectral Polarimetric Imager for Autonomous Plant Health Monitoring
Amount: $131,495 Topic: T6
For future long-duration space exploration missions, NASA expressed the need for plant systems that may provide a nutrient dense supplement to crew diet and possibly other life support functions, such as CO2 removal, O2 production, water recovery, and waste recycling.nbsp; Current and future infrastructure for plant growth include chambers with controlled environments.nbsp; To ensure optimal growing conditions in these chambers, the plants will require precise monitoring of health throughout the plant life cycle.nbsp; These monitoring systems will need to operate autonomously with little crew involvement.nbsp; Current plant monitoring instruments include multispectral and hyperspectral sensing that require post-process algorithms to detect physiological phenomena.nbsp; Space Lab Technologies (Space Lab) and the Space Plants Lab at the University of Florida (UF) propose an improved approach for monitoring space plant health using a smart spectral polarimetric imager to monitor morphological features and stresses.nbsp; The Phase I work investigates not only sensing bandlimited reflectance as do current space plant imagers, but also study the polarization flux reflected from the plant surfaces.nbsp; The polarization information conveys electric field direction of the reflected light.nbsp; Spectral polarization studies of plants are an emerging method for plant health monitoring with related published works within the past few years.nbsp; The proposed innovation expands upon this current research, where the biological and physical science for plant spectral polarimetry is still being researched.nbsp; In addition to spectral polarization imaging, real-time image processing using digital signal processing techniques within the on-board FPGA provide autonomous plant health monitoring.nbsp; Combining the use of spectrum, polarization, and real-time image processing in instrumentation enables optimal control for producing healthy plants or crops for space exploration.
Tagged as:
STTR
Phase I
2021
NASA
HEART - Habitat ECLSS Analytics for Resilience Tool for Real Time Habitability Management
Amount: $131,493 Topic: T10
HEART (Habitat ECLSS Analytics for Resilience Tool) is an environmental health monitoring platform that addresses the need for autonomous technologies to manage space habitats. Spacecraft crew on deep space exploration missions will need to manage, plan, and execute a mission independently of mission control on Earth, because of communication time lags or outages. Due to complexity of spacecraft systems, operations management will be prohibitively time consuming and computationally intensive. Off-nominal events may occur that limit crew activity or capacity. Furthermore, space habitats like Lunar Gateway may operate without crew for weeks, months, or even years at a time, necessitating autonomous operations. When a space habitat is unoccupied, unexpected events may require immediate autonomous detection and response. HEART assesses ECLSS robustness in real time for autonomous habitat health management. It provides state estimation, model-based anomaly detection, prioritized anomaly reporting, and managed transitions to different operating modes (dormant, quiescent, and active) in space habitats like Lunar Gateway. The benefits of HEART over state-of-the-art ECLSS health management applications include improved situational awareness, model-based anomaly detection for dynamic systems, early degradation detection, risk assessment for prioritized reporting, state transition readiness, and adaptability. This Phase I project will show proof of concept for the enabling functions of HEART. In support of NASArsquo;s priorities for sustained human exploration of deep space the HEART concept will be a major step towards autonomous systems that enable spacecraft operation independent of Earth-based mission control. The design will be readily transferable to terrestrial applications, including management of any complex controlled environment supporting life forms, such as submarines, plant growth chambers, greenhouses, or even biomanufacturing facilities.
Tagged as:
STTR
Phase I
2021
NASA
MarsOasis - An Efficient Autonomously Controlled Martian Crop Production System
Amount: $754,919 Topic: T7
The MarsOasistrade; cultivation system is a versatile, autonomous, environmentally controlled growth chamber for food provision on the Martian surface.nbsp; MarsOasistrade; integrates a wealth of prior research and Mars growth chamber concepts into a complete system design and operational prototype.nbsp; MarsOasistrade; includes several innovative features relative to the state of the art space growth chambers. nbsp;It can operate on the Mars surface or inside of a habitat.nbsp; The growth volume maximizes available growth area and supports a variety of crop sizes, from seeding through harvest.nbsp; It utilizes in-situ CO2 from the Mars atmosphere.nbsp; Hybrid lighting takes advantage of natural sunlight during warmer periods, and supplemental LEDs during extreme cold, low light, or indoor operation.nbsp; Recirculating hydroponics and humidity recycling minimize water loss.nbsp; The structure also supports a variety of hydroponic nutrient delivery methods, depending on crop needs.nbsp; The growth chamber uses solar power when outside, with deployable solar panels that stow during dust storms or at night.nbsp; It can also use power from the habitat or other external sources.nbsp; The growth chamber is mobile, so that the crew can easily relocate it.nbsp; Autonomous environmental control manages crop conditions reducing crew time for operation. Finally, remote teleoperation allows pre-deployment, prior to crew arrival. nbsp;nbsp;This project directly addresses the NASA STTR technology area T7.02 ldquo;Space Exploration Plant Growthrdquo; and will be a major step towards closed-loop, sustainable living systems for space exploration.nbsp; This collaborative effort between Space Lab Technologies, LLC and the Bioastronautics research group from the CU Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences Department will culminate in the development of a pilot-scale engineering demonstration unit (EDU) for key components.nbsp; Finally, thermal analysis, PAR distribution models, and ESM estimates for the MarsOasistrade; concept will be refined, based on EDU testing results.nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;
Tagged as:
STTR
Phase II
2020
NASA
Low Pressure Drop Oxygen Flow Meter for the PLSS
Amount: $754,982 Topic: H4
The portable life support system (PLSS) of the advanced extravehicular mobility unit (AEMU) provides the necessary environment for a crew member to operate within the space suit.nbsp; Within the PLSS, the oxygen ventilation loop provides carbon dioxide washout, gas temperature control, humidity control, and trace contaminant removal.nbsp; Historically, there have been issues with the measurement of air flow for the oxygen ventilation loop.nbsp; With the Apollo EMU, there were humidity issues with the implemented flow meter.nbsp; For the Space Shuttle/ISS EMU, the flow sensor was a flapper/microswitch combination that only measured a discrete threshold for flow.nbsp; The proposed innovation allows for continuous air flow measurement from 1 to 8 acfm with static pressures of 3.5 to 25 psia in the pure oxygen environment.nbsp; This new method meets the low pressure drop requirement and allows operation beyond low earth orbit (LEO) with radiation hardened electronics.nbsp; An engineering demonstration unit (EDU) will be developed during Phase II.
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase II
2019
NASA
FRESR: Freezable Radiator for Efficient, Safe, and Robust Single Loop Thermal Control
Amount: $124,997 Topic: Z2
This project addresses NASArsquo;s need for low mass, safe, and highly robust single loop active thermal control systems (ATCS).nbsp; The spacecraft ATCS must transport heat loads from inside a space habitat to subsystems that reject heat to the surroundings. Deep space habitats will require ATCS that maintain cabin temperature despite wide fluctuations in heat loads (during crewed and un-crewed periods) and sink temperatures.nbsp; Historically, dual loop architectures have been utilized, because there are no known fluids that are both non-toxic (safe to use inside the habitat) and non-freezable (reliable for use outside of the habitat).nbsp; Thus, a low-freeze point fluid is used in an external loop and a non-toxic fluid (water) in an internal loop, increasing overall mass and complexity.nbsp; These dual loop architectures are safer with a nontoxic internal fluid but hazards still remain. Non-freezable, nontoxic coolants and freezable radiators will enable single loop ATCS architectures that have reduced complexity and mass over dual loop systems.nbsp; Space Lab Technologies proposes FRESR, a Freezable Radiator for Efficient, Safe, and Robust single loop thermal control of crewed vehicles and habitats.nbsp; FRESR builds upon and integrates ground tested heat exchanger/radiator technology, into a realizable single loop architecture with low mass materials and more reliable components. A FRESR ATCS includes human-safe coolant, eliminating the toxic hazard of ammonia or HFE7200; freeze tolerant components that allow thermal expansion during freeze; and self-regulating temperature control, making it robust to fluctuating heat loads and heat sinks.nbsp; Space Lab, supported by the University of Colorado, will establish feasibility of integrating FRESR into a space habitat ATCS for exploration missions (such as Lunar Gateway or a lunar surface habitat).nbsp; In Phase I, lightweight freeze-tolerant coolant tubes and radiator loops will be designed and tested as an integrated system in thermal vacuum.nbsp;
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase I
2019
NASA
Smart Hybrid Ultrasonic Robust Flowmeter for Waste Processor Effluent Gases
Amount: $97,420 Topic: H3
As human space exploration progresses beyond Earth orbit, the need for resource and waste management is paramount. nbsp;Missions to the International Space Station (ISS) rely on resupply missions for replenishing resources, and waste is disposed by either burnup during Earth entry (i.e. Cygnus) or in recovery of reentry vehicles (i.e. Dragon).nbsp; Future long duration missions will need a solution for reducing trash volume and processing the resulting atmospheric contaminates.nbsp; For such waste systems, there currently is no reliable method for measuring mass flow rates for the effluent gases.nbsp; Flow sensing techniques for waste require a robust device able to provide accurate mass flow measurements despite the variable and corrosive gas stream that includes a high content of water vapor and hydrocarbons.nbsp; Typical mass flow measurement devices for gases do not operate well in a dirty gaseous stream, which include thermal and Coriolis types.nbsp; Thermal elements in the gas stream will eventually collect deposits on surfaces and become non-responsive.nbsp; Coriolis flowmeters can be relatively large, and they have a limited turndown range for gases.nbsp; Space Lab Technologies LLC with the consulting efforts of Professor James Nabity at the University of Colorado Boulder proposes SHUR Flowtrade;, a robust mass flowmeter for space habitat waste processing systems.nbsp; SHUR Flowtrade; uses a smart hybrid ultrasonic technology in a relatively small formfactor.nbsp; The instrument provides robust measurement of dirty flows with negligible pressure drop, corrosion resistance, and tolerance to the buildup of deposits in the inner tube waste processor.nbsp; SHUR Flowtrade; also features high resolution radiation tolerant electronics. In Phase I, Space Lab will determine feasibility of the proposed instrument through conceptual design and analysis, risk and reliability assessment, and prototype testing.
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase I
2019
NASA
Pro-WASH - Produce Wash and Aeration for Space Habitats
Amount: $124,981 Topic: H12
Initial space food crops will be “pick-and-eat”, requiring produce disinfection on board spacecraft. The state of the art disinfection method on the ISS is Pro-San® wipes developed by Microcide, Inc. This method is not regenerable, requiring resupply mass, creating solid waste, and requiring crew time to manually clean vegetables. Also, wipes cannot easily disinfect produce with a lot of crevices, such as leafy vegetables or radishes. Other disinfection methods investigated by researchers have included hydrogen peroxide and cold plasma, which both negatively impact food quality. Chemical methods that produce toxic by-products or residues on the produce are unacceptable solutions. UV for disinfection is also problematic, as light does not easily penetrate crevices in the produce surface. Space Lab Technologies, LLC proposes Produce Wash and Aeration for Space Habitats (Pro-WASH™), a hybrid ozonating and Pro-San® water wash system for on-board produce disinfection. Pro-Wash™ offers several innovative features relative to state-of-the-art. It is an autonomous and versatile. It not only disinfects, but also optionally rinses, steams, and dehydrates produce. A gently spinning, grated wash basket increases the contact of wash fluid with vegetable surfaces and crevices. An ozone generator diffuses safe levels of re-generable ozone into the wash-water stream for disinfection without noticeable reduction in food quality. Optionally, a Pro-San® wash water solution provides an alternate disinfection method. A self-cleaning mode reduces crew time needed for maintenance and increases long term reliability. Pro-WASH™ operates across gravity regimes (0-1 g). Finally, the design is extensible to disinfection of non-produce items, such as utensils, toothbrushes, laundry, etc. In Phase I, Space Lab will combine conceptual design and analysis with prototype development and testing to establish technical and economic feasibility for produce disinfection with Pro-WASH™.
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase I
2018
NASA
Low Pressure Drop Oxygen Flow Meter for the PLSS
Amount: $124,994 Topic: H4
The portable life support system (PLSS) of the advanced extravehicular mobility unit (AEMU) provides the necessary environment for a crew member to operate within the space suit. Within the PLSS, the oxygen ventilation loop provides carbon dioxide washout, gas temperature control, humidity control, and trace contaminant removal. Historically, there have been issues with the measurement of air flow for the oxygen ventilation loop. With the Apollo EMU, there were humidity issues with the implemented flow meter. For the Space Shuttle/ISS EMU, the flow sensor was a flapper/microswitch combination that only measured a discrete threshold for flow. This proposal provides an analog method to measure the continuous air flow. This new method meets the low pressure drop requirement and allows operation beyond low earth orbit (LEO) with radiation tolerant electronics. Per the solicitation, a prototype will be developed during phase I to verify this new technology.
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase I
2018
NASA