Langley Partnership FAQs

NASA uses the term “partnership” to loosely describe a wide variety of relationships it has with various external entities. For example, a provider of contracted services, a licensee of NASA-patented technology, or a company performing collaborative research with NASA are all referred to as “partners” in a NASA “partnership.”

Partnerships can be in the form of:

• Agreements
• Technology Transfer
• Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR)

NASA engages in partnerships to meet the following objectives:

• Facilitate collaborative opportunities with domestic and international partners
• Resolve gaps in technical capabilities that are important to meeting NASA mission objectives
• Support U.S. economic innovation and industrial competitiveness
• Serve as a tool for meeting NASA’s mandate under the Space Act of encouraging the “fullest commercial use of space”
• Maintain essential NASA expertise and facilities
• Advance NASA’s STEM education and outreach goals

NASA partners with the following:  

• U.S. industry (large and small)  
• Other federal agencies  
• Research institutions  
• Public outreach organizations (e.g., museums)  
• State and local governments  
• Colleges and universities  
• Foreign entities (e.g., businesses, academia, research institutions, governments)
• Professional associations and non-profits  

Space Act Agreements are legally-binding documents that formalize partnerships between NASA and external entities.  NASA is authorized by Congress to enter into these kinds of agreement per its  “Other Transactions Authority (OTA)” under the National Aeronautics and Space Act (51 U.S.C. § 20113(e)). Space Act Agreements are the most common mechanism for partnerships and can be nonreimbursable or reimbursable.  

• Nonreimbursable SAAs are collaborative agreements in which NASA and an external party each contribute resources—which can include personnel, facilities, expertise, equipment, or technology—toward the accomplishment of a mutual goal. There is no transfer of funds between the parties. Each party agrees to fund its own participation in the partnership.  
• Reimbursable SAAs involve the payment of funds from the partner to NASA in exchange for access to, or the use of, unique NASA resources for purposes that are clearly related to NASA’s capabilities. Such resources may include personnel, facilities, expertise, equipment, or technology. The terms, conditions, and schedules are negotiable, but NASA must be paid in advance for each stage of the effort. NASA is prohibited from competing with the private sector, so NASA may not provide services which are reasonably available from the private sector.  

There are two types of partnership opportunities: solicited and unsolicited. Interested parties may find and respond to solicited proposals through SAM.gov. Program and industry-specific solicited proposal opportunities are available through Announcements of Collaboration Opportunity Awards, NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System (NSPIRES), and the NASA Acquisition Forecast.

When solicited proposals are not available, interested parties may submit partnership ideas directly to NASA Langley (larc-partnerships@mail.nasa.gov) or through the NASA Front Door.

Before submitting a partnership inquiry, be sure it includes:

• What you want to accomplish by partnering with Langley
• Why NASA is relevant to your need
• What your organization will contribute
• What facilities or infrastructure you want to use
• How roles and responsibilities will be divided between parties
• Proposed timeline with milestones and deliverables
• Funding or resource availability, if known

NASA evaluates each submission for potential collaboration based on mission alignment and availability. While we seek a path forward whenever possible, a request begins an exploration and may not result in a formal agreement. 

The NASA Langley Technology Transfer program ensures that innovations developed for exploration and discovery are broadly available to the public, maximizing the benefit to the nation. NASA Langley’s patent portfolio is available at technology.nasa.gov, and Langley’s software catalog is available at software.nasa.gov.

• Search for the technology of interest on  technology.nasa.gov
• Click on the icon/image and review the technical data sheet  
• Click the icon:  Apply Now to License This Technology!  
• Create an account in ATLAS 

Every technology license is different. We’ll work with you to design an agreement that helps you achieve your business goals. Licenses can be either a Standard Commercial License, Startup License, or an Evaluation License.  

• Standard Commercial License:    Allows companies to make and sell products based on NASA technologies and requires detailed commercialization plans and financial documentation.    
• Startup License:  By offering a license with no up-front costs for commercial use of our patented technologies, we’re letting companies hold onto their cash while securing the intellectual property needed to carve out competitive market space.   
• Evaluation License:  Enables companies to “test drive” the commercial viability of NASA technologies with minimal risk and up-front commitment. Evaluation licenses are well-suited for early TRL technologies that need additional investment.  Evaluation licensees are not permitted to commercialize or sell products made using NASA’s technology.  A Commercial Patent License is required before any sales can take place.   

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is part of America’s Seed Fund, the nation’s largest source of early-stage non-dilutive funding for innovative technologies. Through this program, entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses with fewer than 500 employees can receive funding and non-monetary support to build, mature, and commercialize their technologies, advancing NASA missions and helping solve important problems facing our country.

The Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)  program fosters innovation through collaborative partnerships between small businesses and nonprofit research institutions. The program requires small businesses to team with universities, federally funded research and development centers, or other research organizations to develop technologies that address NASA’s mission needs. Through competitive solicitations, NASA awards Phase I contracts to prove technical feasibility and Phase II contracts to develop working prototypes. STTR ensures that cutting-edge academic research translates into commercial products while supporting small businesses as they bring new technologies to market.

To receive an SBIR or STTR award, the awardee must qualify as a Small Business Concern (SBC) as defined by SBA regulations at 13 C.F.R. §§ 701-705.

A Small Business Concern (SBC) must satisfy the following conditions on the date of award for both Phase I and Phase II funding agreements: (1) is organized for profit, with a place of business located in the United States, which operates primarily within the United States or which makes a significant contribution to the United States economy through payment of taxes or use of American products, materials or labor; (2) is in the legal form of an individual proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company, corporation, joint venture, association, trust or cooperative, except that if the concern is a joint venture, each entity to the venture must meet the requirements set forth in paragraph (3) below; (3) is more than 50 percent directly owned and controlled by one or more individuals (who are citizens or permanent resident aliens of the United States), other small business concerns (each of which is more than 50% directly owned and controlled by individuals who are citizens or permanent resident aliens of the United States), or any combination of these; and (4) has, including its affiliates, not more than 500 employees.