Developing a new class of deep sea vehicles for sample
collection is just one of the 280 research proposals NASA has
selected for Phase I contract awards as part of its Small Business
Innovation Research Program. The combined total of the awards is
expected to be more than $19 million.
The goals of the Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR)
are 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 federally funded research
results.
NASA received 1,847 proposals, submitted by small, high technology
businesses from across the country. The proposals were reviewed
for technical merit and feasibility and relevance to NASA research
and technology requirements. The selected firms will be awarded
fixed-price contracts valued up to $70,000 each to perform a six-
month Phase I feasibility study.
Companies which successfully complete the phase 1 activities are
eligible to compete for Phase II selection the following year. The
phase 2 award allows for a two-year, fixed-price contract in the
amount up to $600,000.
The NASA SBIR Program Management Office is located at the Goddard
Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, with executive oversight by
NASA’s Office of Aerospace Technology, NASA Headquarters,
Washington, DC. Individual SBIR projects are managed by NASA’s ten
field centers.
– end –
NOTE TO EDITORS: A listing of the selected companies can be
accessed on the internet at URL: http://sbir.nasa.gov after 4
p.m., Dec. 22, 2000.
