Five small high-technology firms have been selected by NASA Dryden Flight Research Center for research and development contracts under Phase II of NASA’s Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program.

The five firms’ proposals were among 120 selected for funding by NASA overall under the second phase of the agency’s 2005 SBIR program, and are valued at up to $600,000 each over a two-year performance period. The proposals fall into two research areas defined in the SBIR process, airspace systems and vehicle systems.

The firms and the titles of their winning proposals include:

  • Metis Design Corporation, Cambridge, Mass., Aircraft Sensor-Logger with Power Replenishment Capabilities

  • Rolling Hills Research Corporation, El Segundo, Calif., Enhanced L/D and Virtual Shaping of NLF Sections

  • Los Gatos Research, Mountain View, Calif., Dynamic Strain and Crack Monitoring Sensor

  • Tao of Systems Integration, Inc., Hampton, Va., Flow-Angle and Airspeed Sensor System (FASS) Using Flush-Mounted Hot-Films

  • Andrews Space & Technology, Seattle, Wash., Flexible Transpiration-Cooled Thermal Protection System for Inflatable Atmospheric Capture and Entry Systems

  • Greg Poteat, acting deputy SBIR program manager at NASA Dryden, said the selections were based in part on each firm’s performance under an earlier Phase I SBIR contact.

“Phase I awards support evaluation of the scientific or technical merit of a proposed concept, and are funded up to a maximum of $70,000 for a six-month period,” Poteat explained. “Phase II selections are made from high-performing Phase I projects, and are oriented to development of a marketable product. Between 40 and 50 percent of Phase I contracts are selected for the Phase II follow-on.”

Overall, 103 small, high-technology firms in 27 states will share in about $72 million in SBIR Phase II contracts awarded by NASA this year, with several receiving more than one contract. The 120 projects funded were selected from 280 proposals submitted by firms completing SBIR Phase I projects. Each proposal was evaluated to determine if it met SBIR Phase I objectives and if it was a feasible research innovation to meet the aerospace agency’s needs.

Additionally, the proposals were chosen based upon technical merit and innovation, commercial potential and company capabilities.

Those firms successfully completing work under at Phase II contract may go to the third phase of the SBIR program by commercializing their product or service. Phase III requires the firms to obtain private financing or non-SBIR federal funding.

NASA’s SBIR program is intended to stimulate technological innovation, increase the use of small business – including women-owned and disadvantaged firms – in meeting federal research and development needs, and increase private-sector commercialization of innovations derived from federally funded research. The program is managed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., with oversight from NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. Individual SBIR projects are selected and managed by each of NASA’s 10 field centers.

Further information about the NASA Small Business Innovative Research program is available by contacting Greg Poteat of NASA Dryden’s innovative partnerships office at 661/276-3872, e-mail greg.poteat@dfrc.nasa.gov.

A complete list of all of the companies selected for an SBIR Phase II award this year is available on the Internet at: http://sbir.nasa.gov