Phase I is the jumping off point for most small businesses and research institutions working with the program. It is known as the “idea generation” phase, during which small businesses (and their research institution partners in STTR) establish the scientific, technical, commercial merit and feasibility of the proposed innovation. You can discover the types of technologies NASA is looking for by reading through the most recent Phase I solicitations.
NASA will award funding to nearly 299 small business teams to develop new technologies to address agency priorities. The new awards from NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program invest in a varied portfolio of American small businesses and research institutions to support NASA’s future missions.
About 32% of the companies selected are first-time NASA SBIR/STTR recipients. Each proposal team will receive $150,000 to establish the merit and feasibility of their innovations for a total agency investment of $44.85 million.
The Phase I SBIR contract awards small businesses and lasts for six months, while the Phase I STTR contract awards small businesses in partnership with a research institution and lasts for 13 months. In total, 215 small businesses received SBIR awards, and 47 unique research institutions and their small business partners received STTR awards. The complete list of this year’s SBIR and STTR awardees are available online.
NASA selected Phase I proposals to receive funding by judging their technical merit and responsiveness to known challenges. Based on their progress during Phase I, companies may submit proposals for up to $850,000 in Phase II funding to develop a prototype and subsequent SBIR/STTR Post Phase II opportunities.
Solicitations & Awardees
2025 NASA SBIR Phase I Awards
Jul 7, 2025
PDF (1.38 MB)
2025 NASA SBIR Phase I Solicitation (Opened January 7, 2025)
May 21, 2025
PDF (3.84 MB)
2025 NASA STTR Phase I Awards
Jul 7, 2025
PDF (445.74 KB)
2025 NASA STTR Phase I Solicitation (Opened January 7, 2025)
May 21, 2025
PDF (2.34 MB)
2024 NASA SBIR Phase I Awardees
Jun 7, 2024
PDF (4.95 MB)
2024 NASA SBIR Phase I Solicitation (Opened January 9, 2024)
Jun 7, 2024
PDF (3.25 MB)
2024 NASA STTR Phase I Awardees
Jun 7, 2024
PDF (1.06 MB)
2024 NASA STTR Phase I Solicitation (Opened January 9, 2024)
Jun 7, 2024
PDF (1.09 MB)
2023 NASA SBIR Phase I Awardees
Feb 26, 2024
PDF (88.90 MB)
2023 NASA SBIR Phase I Solicitation (Opened January 10, 2023)
Jan 9, 2024
PDF (3.23 MB)
2023 NASA STTR Phase I Awardees
Jan 17, 2024
PDF (2.46 MB)
2023 NASA STTR Phase I Solicitation (Opened January 10, 2023)
Jan 8, 2024
PDF (1.34 MB)
2022 NASA SBIR Phase I Awardees
Jan 17, 2024
PDF (103.85 MB)
2022 NASA SBIR Phase I Solicitation (Opened January 6, 2022)
Jan 8, 2024
PDF (3.15 MB)
2022 NASA STTR Phase I Awardees
Jan 17, 2024
PDF (19.68 MB)
2022 NASA STTR Phase I Solicitation (Opened January 6, 2022)
Jan 8, 2024
PDF (1.07 MB)
Older SBIR/STTR Phase I Press Releases
2024 SBIR/STTR Phase I
On June 7, 2024, NASA selected 299 proposals from small businesses across the country to receive nearly $45 million in Phase I awards.
2023 SBIR/STTR Phase I
On June 5, 2023, NASA selected 300 proposals from 249 small businesses and 39 research institutions to receive a total of $45 million in Phase I awards.
Looking for awardees prior to 2022? Search for them on SBIR.gov
Resources for Phase I Proposers
2025 Phase I Subtopic AMAs
For the 2025 SBIR/STTR Phase I Solicitation, the Program hosted Ask Me Anything webinars the week of December 9.
Phase I Welcome Webinar
On August 14, 2024, the NASA SBIR/STTR program hosted a webinar to welcome the 2024 NASA SBIR and STTR Phase I awardees, who were selected in June 2024. Watch the recording here.
STTR Subtopic Videos
Watch videos from STTR subject matter experts about the topics included in the 2024 STTR Phase I Solicitation
Program Definitions
Learn the meanings of many commonly used words and phrases in the NASA SBIR/STTR program
I-Corps
As part of your Phase I submission, you can apply for additional funding to create a repeatable and scalable business model through the NASA I-Corps program
TABA
As part of your Phase I submission, you can apply for an additional $6,500 in funding to support your commercialization strategy through the Technical and Business Assistance (TABA) program
