NASA SBIR Phase I

NASA STTR Phase I

Funds U.S. small businesses and their research institution partners conducting early-stage space technology R&D through NASA's Small Business Technology Transfer program.

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

NASA STTR Phase I is a non-dilutive feasibility grant administered by NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate under the federal Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program, authorized by the Small Business Technology Transfer Act. Each award is capped at $225,000 for a 13-month period of performance. NASA takes no equity and retains no IP rights in the company's technology. The 2026 solicitation (Appendix B) covered SBIR and STTR together and closed May 21, 2026; the next solicitation cycle is expected but not yet published as of this record date.

STTR differs from SBIR in one key structural requirement: the small business (the prime applicant) must formally partner with a U.S. research institution — a university, federally funded research and development center (FFRDC), or national laboratory — that performs at least 30% of the R&D work. The small business performs at least 40%. The award flows to the small business, not the research institution.

Eligibility requires a U.S.-based for-profit small business concern with 500 or fewer employees. The small business must be the prime applicant and majority U.S.-owned. The required research institution partner must be a domestic nonprofit U.S. university, FFRDC, or national laboratory. There is no minimum TRL stated in the source; Phase I is described as the idea-generation and feasibility stage, suggesting early-stage proposals (TRL 1–4 typically).

Applications are submitted through the NASA SBIR/STTR submission portal (tech.nasa.gov/sbir). The 2026 Appendix B solicitation accepted proposals for STTR Phase I. The process begins with a proposal submission covering technical approach, commercialization potential, and team qualifications. NASA evaluates proposals on scientific/technical merit, commercial potential, and relevance to NASA mission priorities. The 2026 cycle closed May 21, 2026; applicants should watch for a new solicitation.

Key caveats: the 2026 solicitation noted a transition toward a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) format for future cycles — the specific BAA URL was not published on the source page. The TABA supplemental add-on ($6,500) applies on top of the Phase I award. The total pool for 2026 is not published on the source page.