– Two Washington state aerospace companies, New Frontier Aerospace and HyBird Space Systems, have received Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants from NASA.
– The SBIR program provides funding for small businesses to conduct research and development that has the potential for commercialization and benefits NASA’s goals.
– New Frontier Aerospace received funding to further develop Bifröst, an orbital transfer spacecraft designed to move payloads between orbits using a 3D printed rocket engine called Mjölnir.
– HyBird Space Systems received funding to continue work on their RT-5X retropropulsion system, which could be used to deorbit inactive spacecraft using “green” propellants.
– In total, NASA awarded $93.5 million to 95 small businesses through 107 Phase II SBIR projects across various space and aeronautics technologies.
– The awards include over $850,000 each for New Frontier Aerospace and HyBird Space Systems’ projects over 24 months to mature their technologies.
Source: geekwire
