The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration has selected 120 research projects for phase 2 of its Small Business Innovation Research program.
NASA, which values the selected projects at approximately $72 million, will award the contracts to 102 small high technology firms in 27 states.
NASA said the program is aimed at developing pioneering technologies, melding them into space-related missions and eventually transitioning them into commercially available products and services.
The SBIR program is a three-phase award system. Phase 1 is a feasibility study to evaluate the scientific and technical merit of an idea, with awards in amounts up to $100,000. Phase 2 allows expanded development with awards for as long as two years in amounts up to $600,000. Phase 3 is for the commercialization of the results of Phase 2.
Participants submitted 243 Phase 2 proposals, from which the 120 were selected by NASA.
Copyright 2007 by United Press International
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