NASA selects small business projects

WASHINGTON, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- NASA says it has selected 368 small business innovation projects for development from among more than 1,600 proposals.

The projects -- designed to address the space agency's technology needs -- include research to minimize the aging of aircraft, new techniques for suppressing fires on spacecraft and advanced transmitters for deep space communications.

The awards -- part of NASA's Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs -- have a combined value of approximately $36 million. Selected companies will partner with 26 universities and research institutions in 20 states.

The criteria used to choose the winning proposals included technical merit and feasibility, experience, qualifications and facilities, effectiveness of the work plan and commercial potential and feasibility.

A list of selected companies and their projects is available at http://www.ipp.nasa.gov/ti_sbir.htm.