Award Data

Providing a reliable supply of safe drinking water is a critical requirement for space exploration. Systems that provide recycled treated water aboard the International Space Station, and that will supply water aboard future spacecraft, are inherently complex and can be susceptible to biofilm formation and microbial contamination. Further, it has been noted that pathogenicity and virulence of micr ...

In these days of tight budgets and limited funding, NASA is constantly looking for new ways to reduce development time and costs of future spacecraft. This is the driving spirit behind NASA's increasing interest in the CubeSat platform, and the vision that is guiding development and demonstration of higher-risk technologies that can eventually lead to low-cost atmospheric science from CubeSats. Fo ...

This SBIR project creates a CubeSat-based on-orbit Validation System (CVS) that provides performance and durability data for Macro Fiber Composite (MFC) piezocomposite actuators operating in space and matures this precision deployment technology through validation tests in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). NASA customers include active structures like space-based deployable telescopes. Phases I/II advance MF ...

This Phase II SBIR project deals with advancing the design, development, and testing of an innovative drag reduction concept named ?Smart Longitudinal Instability Prevention via Plasma Surface? using a new revolutionary plasma actuator technology developed at the University of Notre Dame (UND). During Phase I, Innovative Technology Applications Company (ITAC), LLC and researchers from UND develope ...

Current engine control architectures impose limitations on the insertion of new control capabilities due to weight penalties and reliability issues related to complex wiring harnesses. NASA in collaboration with Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) has been conducting research in developing technologies to enable Distributed Engine Control (DEC) architectures. Realization of such future intelligent engin ...

Area-I, Incorporated personnel have led the design, fabrication, and flight testing of fourteen unmanned aircraft, one manned aircraft, and numerous advanced guidance, control, and avionics packages. Area-I has continued this tradition in its development of the Resource allocation for Multi-Agent Planning, or ReMAP, guidance and navigation system for unmanned aircraft. The ReMAP system, whose core ...

The Carbonaceous Asteroid Volatile Recovery (CAVoR) system produces water and hydrogen-rich syngas for propellant production, life support consumables, and manufacturing from in-situ resources in support of advanced space exploration. The CAVoR thermally extracts ice and water bound to clay minerals, which is then combined with small amounts of oxygen to gasify organic matter contained in carbonac ...

Polyethylene, and ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) in particular, is an outstanding material for radiation shielding in the sense that its extraordinarily high hydrogen content both minimizes the production of secondary ions during exposure to energetic radiation and captures neutrons. Its low density and high wear resistance also make it attractive for the structures of manned spa ...

Human exploration requires advances in propulsion for transport to Earth orbit, the moon, Mars and beyond. New technologies are needed for advanced in-space propulsion systems to support exploration, reduce travel time, reduce acquisition costs and reduce operational costs. The goal is a breakthrough in cost and reliability for a wide range of payload sizes and types supporting future orbital flig ...

In this phase II SBIR we will design, build, test, and deliver extremely low Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) non-mechanical, electro-optic (EO) laser beamsteerers that are optimized for space based laser communications (lasercom). These new beamsteerers, which will finally satisfy the decades long dream of providing a viable alternative to opto-mechanics, will controllably steer high power (>10 Wat ...