Hello, Innovator!
Big things are happening here in the NASA SBIR/STTR program. We are moving away from our traditional solicitation cycle, in which we release the bulk of our subtopics in January followed by our SBIR Ignite subtopics in the summer. Beginning this fall, we’ll be utilizing a Broad Agency Announcement, or BAA, which will empower us to release the Phase I subtopics for SBIR, STTR, and SBIR Ignite over multiple appendices throughout the year. We’re planning to release the BAA in October, which will outline proposal guidelines and requirements. And we’re targeting November for the release of our pilot appendix, which will include a small number of subtopics for proposal. More information is available on our new Program Year 2026 Information Hub. We will update the website throughout the year so that you can propose and participate with confidence.
For some members of our community, particularly those of you who have participated in the Department of Defense SBIR/STTR program, the BAA format will be familiar. For others, this may seem like a significant change to how you interact with our program. I want to assure all of you that this approach opens up a world of opportunity.
First and foremost, it allows the NASA SBIR/STTR program to be more flexible and responsive, soliciting proposals for both known and emergent technology needs in a way that can better reflect shifts in the Agency and the commercial marketplace. Additionally, this approach creates opportunities to propose and participate throughout the year, strengthening the connection between our program and the community of innovators and entrepreneurs that we are privileged to serve.
If you’re reading this, you know better than most that innovation is often as scary as it is exciting. And it is that magic combination of the unknown and the possible that unlocks whole new avenues of exploration. Every year, the NASA SBIR/STTR program comes to you to tap into that courageous spirit of innovation. This year, we’re innovating right there with you. And we can’t wait to see what lies ahead.
~Jason L. Kessler, Program Executive
Recent & Upcoming Selections
In case you missed it, NASA SBIR/STTR had a busy summer of announcements for many of our solicitations, which we are excited to share with you! In addition to those announcements, we want to make everyone aware we are planning to open the 2026 CCRPP for submissions in November. Phase IIEs will be occurring later this year as well. (Phase IIE proposal periods open 12 months after the Phase II contract start date (6 months for SBIR Ignite) and are only available to Phase II recipients.)
2025 SBIR and STTR Ph I: NASA selected 299 small business teams to develop new technologies to address agency priorities. The new awards invest in a varied portfolio of American small businesses and research institutions to support NASA’s future missions. About 32% of the companies selected are first-time NASA SBIR/STTR recipients. Each proposal team will receive $150,000 to establish the merit and feasibility of their innovations for a total agency investment of $44.85 million. The complete list of this year’s SBIR and STTR PhI awardees are available here.
Successful PA Companies Receiving PhI SBIR Awards Under This Opportunity:
Astrobiotic Technology Inc., Pittsburgh 1 Award
Goeppert LLC, Philadelphia 2 Awards
Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc, Lancaster 3 Awards
Materials Research & Design, Inc. Wayne 1 Award
VISIMO LLC, Carnegie 1 Award
Remcom, Inc, State College 1 Award
Successful PA Companies Receiving PhI STTR Awards Under This Opportunity:
X-Hab 3D, Inc, State College 1 Award
HAMR Industries LLC, Clinton 1 Award
2024 SBIR Ignite PhII: Seven U.S. small businesses received PhII awards through the NASA SBIR Ignite initiative, which focuses on technologies with a strong commercial pull. Each small business will receive up to $850,000 and have 24 months to continue developing their technologies in one of these three areas: Aviation-Ready Electrical Energy Storage for All-Electric or Hybrid Electric Aircraft, Leak-Free Cryogenic Valves and Quick Disconnects, and Decision Support Tools Leveraging NASA Earth Science Data. Find more about the selections under “Solicitations and Awardees” here.
2025 Phase II Sequential
NASA anticipates announcing the selections for the 2025 Civilian Commercialization Readiness Pilot Program (CCRPP) in the coming weeks. CCRPP is designed to accelerate a technology’s path into transitioning to NASA missions as well as commercial markets after they’ve completed their Phase II award; these awards require a minimum investor funding of $500,000, and the NASA SBIR/STTR program will match between $500,000 and $2.5 million of the external investment. Once available, you’ll be able to find the awardees here.
2025 CCRPP
NASA selected five firms for Civilian Commercialization Readiness Pilot Program (CCRPP) awards, totaling $11.3M in funding. CCRPP is designed to accelerate a technology’s path into commercial markets as well as transitioning to NASA missions after they’ve completed their Phase II award; these awards requires a minimum investor funding of $500,000, and the NASA SBIR/STTR program will match between $500,000 and $2.5 million of the external investment. The awardees list is available here.
Sustainable Business Model Challenge
NASA selected ten participants in the Sustainable Business Model Challenge. Participants receive $10K, access to a 10-week training program to strengthen their SBIR Phase I proposal, and an assessment for readiness to submit to NASA’s SBIR program. Awardees use NASA’s publicly available datasets to build sustainable business models aligning NASA data with market needs while exploring SBIR pathways.
Read more in NASA’s most Recent SBIR/STTR Summer 2025 Newsletter and register to receive it in your inbox!
Thank you for being a part of the NASA SBIR/STTR community!
https://www.nasa.gov/sbir_sttr/
