Tag: SBIR
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Interlune wins $6.9M NASA contract to create system to extract helium-3 and hydrogen from moon dirt
Interlune test engineer Alex Lewandowski and mechanical engineer Jessica Wu check test equipment for the mass spectrometer system in the Regolith Lab at the company’s Seattle headquarters. (Interlune Photo) NASA has awarded a $6.9 million contract to Seattle-based Interlune for the development of a system that can extract gases such as helium-3 and hydrogen from…
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Gravitics plans to leverage space station architecture for $1.7M Space Force project
An artist’s conception shows a Gravitics space station module in orbit. (Gravitics Illustration) Marysville, Wash.-based Gravitics says it will work with Rocket Lab USA and other partners to adapt its space station architecture for the U.S. Space Force under the terms of a $1.7 million contract. The contract was awarded through the 2023 SpaceWERX Tactically…
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New Frontier Aerospace and HyBird get in on innovation research grants from NASA
Artwork shows two views of the Bifröst orbital transfer spacecraft. (New Frontier Aerospace Illustration) Two Washington state aerospace companies — Tukwila-based New Frontier Aerospace and Spanaway-based HyBird Space Systems — are among 95 ventures that have won project development funding from NASA through its Small Business Innovation Research program. The Phase II SBIR grants are…
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Three Pacific Northwest space companies win awards from Space Force venture fund
An artist’s conception shows Gravitics’ space module in orbit. (Gravitics Illustration) SpaceWERX, which essentially serves as a venture fund for the U.S. Space Force, has awarded contracts worth as much as $1.7 million each to 18 companies — including three startups headquartered in the Seattle area. The Washington state awardees are Marysville-based Gravitics, which is…
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Starfish Space wins NASA contract to plan demonstration of orbital debris inspection
An artist’s conception shows the Otter inspection spacecraft silhouetted against Earth as it closes in on a target satellite. (Starfish Space Illustration) Even as Starfish Space works to get its first orbital demonstration mission back on track, the Tukwila, Wash.-based startup has won a contract from NASA to look into an even more ambitious project…
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NASA awards millions to boost technology innovations created by small businesses
One grant would support the development of a lunar power distribution system. (NASA Illustration) NASA’s latest round of small-business grants will support aerospace-related technologies ranging from a new kind of spacecraft docking mechanism to a power beaming system suitable for use on the moon. Those are just two of the projects receiving Phase I grants…
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Moondust buster? NASA funds far-out research projects, including four in Washington state
An artist’s conception shows astronauts at work on the moon. (NASA Illustration) How do you keep moondust from gumming up the works in NASA’s future spacesuits and spacecraft? That’s one of the issues addressed in the latest batch of projects backed by NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program. “NASA is working on ambitious, groundbreaking missions…
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Stoke Space and Sequoia Scientific win NASA funding to advance tech innovations
Stoke Space Technologies’ second-stage engine injector undergoes a test firing at the company’s component test facility. (Stoke Photo) Two Washington state companies have won grants of up to $750,000 each from NASA to take space-related technologies they’re already working on to the next stage of development. The awards to Renton-based Stoke Space Technologies and Bellevue-based…
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Lasers on the moon? Nuclear rockets? NASA awards millions for way-out tech
Future spaceships could use nuclear thermal propulsion to get to Mars quickly. (Illustration via USNC-Tech) NASA’s latest crop of space technology grants will fund work on projects ranging from power-beaming lasers for lunar missions to high-temperature testing of components for nuclear-powered rockets. Those are just a couple of the 365 concepts attracting a total of…
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NASA funds small-business ideas ranging from AI medicine to plumbing for the moon
Astronauts can perform basic medical checks on the International Space Station, but crews heading to Mars may need to do more complicated medical procedures without the ability to communicate in real time with Mission Control back on Earth. A system being developed by Redmond, Wash.-based Retrocausal could serve as an AI-generated medical assistant. (NASA Photo)…