NASA SBIR Phase I

NASA STTR Phase II

Funds U.S. small businesses and their research institution partners developing and demonstrating technology innovations through NASA's STTR Phase II award.

NASA STTR Phase II is a grant issued by NASA's Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) program, authorized under the Small Business Innovation Development Act. The program is managed by NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). Phase II is focused on the development, demonstration, and delivery of a technology innovation that was shown to be feasible in Phase I.

Awards are up to $850,000 per project for the core effort, plus up to $50,000 in Technical and Business Assistance (TABA) funds, for a total of up to $900,000. The period of performance is 24 months. Unlike SBIR, STTR requires a formal research institution partner — a U.S. university or federally funded research and development center — to collaborate on the project. NASA takes no equity and asserts no IP rights in the awardee's technology.

Only for-profit small businesses in the United States that were awarded a NASA STTR Phase I award for the same topic are eligible to apply. The small business is the lead applicant; the research institution is a required partner and must perform at least 30% of the work. The research institution must perform at least 30% and the small business at least 40% of the effort. Companies must be U.S.-based with fewer than 500 employees.

Applications are submitted through the SBIR/STTR application portal when a solicitation is open. Each solicitation cycle covers specific topic areas published in the solicitation document. As of June 2026, no upcoming STTR Phase II solicitation deadline has been announced — the most recent SBIR Phase II solicitation closed May 15, 2026. Proposals are evaluated by NASA technical experts on scientific and technical merit, commercialization potential, and the qualifications of the team.

A common error is applying to STTR Phase II without first receiving a Phase I award from NASA for the same research topic. Another pitfall is failing to secure a formal research institution partner agreement before submitting — the partnership is a hard eligibility requirement, not optional. Applications are only accepted during open solicitation windows; NASA does not accept STTR Phase II applications outside of a published solicitation.