NASA SELECTS 10 SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROJECTS

WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected ten proposals from small business and
research institution teams to continue work on innovative
technologies that could advance future missions. The Phase II winners
in the agency's Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program now
can enter negotiations for possible contract awards, with a total for
all projects of approximately $7.49 million.

High-technology firms in seven states submitted proposals in
partnership with research institutions in nine states. The STTR
Program uses a highly competitive, three-phase award system that
provides collaborative opportunities between qualified small
businesses, including women-owned and disadvantaged firms, and
research institutions to address specific technology gaps in NASA's
programs. STTR projects provide a foundation for future technology
developments and are complementary to other NASA research
investments.

Firms and research institutions that participated in Phase I of the
STTR submitted 44 Phase II proposals. Selection criteria included
technical merit and innovation, Phase I results, value to NASA,
commercial potential and company capabilities. Phase I is a
feasibility study to evaluate the scientific and technical merit of
an idea and Phase II will expand on the results of last year's
projects, with up to $750,000 to support research for up to two more
years. Phase III is for the commercialization of the results of Phase
II and requires private sector or non-STTR federal funding.

STTR is part of NASA's Space Technology Program and is managed at the
agency's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., with
executive oversight by the Office of the Chief Technologist at NASA
Headquarters in Washington. Individual projects are managed by NASA's
field installations.