National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Goddard Space Flight CenterGoddard Space Flight Center

Success Stories

NASA has many commercialized technologies. Thousands of American businesses have benefited from partnering with NASA to license technology and leverage NASA expertise. These partnerships have resulted in billions of dollars in generated revenue, billions more in saved costs, and tens of thousands of new jobs.

The chart below features commercialized NASA Goddard Space Flight Center technologies.

 

Title [ Downloads & Links] Success TypePartnerProducts / Technology
Commercial Space: NASA Has an App for ThatOpen Source SoftwareRed Canyon Software LLCSoftware two decades in the making helps private space companies save time, money
Satellites "See" Sea Turtles, Ocean ThreatsSatellite Tech & DataCLS (Collecte Localisation Satellite)A tracking system in low-Earth orbit locates turtles, boats, birds, oil slicks, and more
A Huge Development for Tiny SatellitesLicense(s)Thermal Management TechnologiesNASA-developed mechanism improves reliability of small satellites
Making the Most of Meticulous MeasurementsSubcontracted on Webb Telescope4D TechnologyWhen NASA needed to make sure telescope mirrors were perfectly flat, 4D Technology of Tucson, Arizona, was contracted to develop measuring instruments that could ensure the James Webb Space Telescope could see distant galaxies.
Aqua Solutions for Terra FirmaPublic NASA datailika GeospatialTo provide weather information to underserved farming communities in India, ilika Geospatial LLC of Edison, New Jersey, developed a weather app that uses data from the Aqua and Terra satellites operated by Goddard Space Flight Center to provide an accurate forecast in the Indian subcontinent, and the company also uses this satellite data in observations for its wider geospatial intelligence business.
Taking the Pulse of EarthPublic data, NASA funding, NASA internship at GSFCterraPulse Inc.By combining NASA satellite data and imagery with proprietary artificial intelligence developed by terraPulse, Inc. the North Potomac, MD-based business makes it possible for companies to monitor changes to the Earth’s surface now and across the past 40 years.
Ballooning Business for Shrinking CamerasPublic domain, SBIRUrban Sky Inc.Miniaturized sensors that fly on a zero-pressure balloon collect data and take pictures that are as expansive as satellite images but are more precise. Denver-based Urban Sky Inc. leveraged SBIR funding from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to create sensors lighter than off-the-shelf options.
Farmers Get Tools from SpacePublic dataIrriWatchIrriWatch BV of Wageningen, Netherlands, uses streams of publicly available data from NASA-built instruments in orbit, including the Ecosystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, to calculate plant stress and other factors important to agriculture for farmers’ fields all over the world. Farmers now buy the near-real-time information as a subscription-based service.
The IceCube CubeSat produced the world’s first map of the global distribution of atmospheric iceSBIRVirginia Diodes. Inc.CubeSat Measures World’s First Ice Cloud Map to Support Climate Research
Matured DOD SBIR-developed technology to meet NASA needsSBIRFreedom PhotonicsGrowing Government Relationships and Technology Capabilities with the NASA SBIR/STTR Program
Black Swift Technologies’ sUAS gathers and process data to maps soil moisture in near real-timeSBIRBlack Swift Technologies LLCSoil Moisture Mapping Small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS)
Combining Spinoff and SBIR Technologies Yields Cost and Time Savings for NASA MissionsSBIRThe Hammers Company, Inc. (THC, Inc.)Integrated Test and Operations Systems (ITOS) and VirtualSat system
SBIR Company Creates Low-Cost Tool for Measuring and Polishing MirrorsSBIRBauer Associates Low-cost, reliable tool for measuring large aspheric mirror surfaces
Goddard CHARMS Facility Characterizes Material Properties for Advanced Optics PartnershipU. of Oxford, Aerospace Corp., Harvard College Observatory, U. of California Observatories/LICKCryogenic High Accuracy Refraction Measuring System (CHARMS)
NASA Goddard and Ocean Tomo Establish Groundbreaking Partnership to Commercialize NASA Technologies Marketing/Business ProcessOcean Tomo Federal Services40 Techs for Live IP Auction
SBIR Recipient Creates Low-Power, Lightweight Controller SBIRBarrett Technology, Inc.Brushless servo electronics module
SBIR Advances Our Understanding of Clouds and the Carbon Cycle SBIRAnasphereCloud-water sensors
SBIR Funding Yields Sensor to Better Understand Cloud Characteristics SBIRStratton Park Engineering Company (SPEC)miniaturized cloud sensors
Goddard's Cable-Compliant Joint Technology Gets Patients Up and Walking with SAM Tech TransferEnduro Medical TechnologyCable Compliant Joint and Compliant Walker Techs / Secure Ambulation Module (SAM)
Goddard and Northrop Grumman Partner To Answer Key Questions in Climate Change and Planetary Science PartnershipNorthrop Grumman Electronic SystemsAdvanced Civil Radar Architectures
Nanotailor, Inc. Licenses Goddard Nanotube Fabrication Process Tech TransferNanotailorsingle-walled carbon nanotube fabrication process
Goddard HHT to Be Used in RFID Demonstration System PartnershipBCG WirelessApplying Hilbert-Huang Transform technology to RFID signals
Two Agreements Prepare Goddard's Cryogenic Cooling System for Commercial Use and Future NASA Missions Partnership & Tech TransferLockheed Martin and Lake Shore CryotronicsContinuous Adiabatic Demagnetization Refrigerator (CADR) technology
STTR Company with Exploration-Related Technology Acquired by Microsoft STTRVexcel Corp.Wireless sensor network technology
Goddard Helps BAE Systems Build New SpaceWire-Based ASIC PartnershipBAE SystemsASIC development for SpaceWire link-and-switch router technology
Texas Instruments Uses NASA Facility to Test Advanced Spaceflight Electronics PartnershipTexas InstrumentsRadiation-hard electronics
Goddard and LogicNets Collaborate in the Building of a Test-bed Environment for an Intelligent Robotic System PartnershipLogicNetsIntelligence models for autonomous robotic systems
Aeroflex to Implement Goddard's SpaceWire Router to Benefit Aerospace Electronics PartnershipAeroflexSpaceWire Router
Platform-Independent Software Offers Flexibility and Ease When Controlling and Monitoring Remote Devices and Sensors Open Source SoftwareN/AInteroperable Remote Component (IRC) Architecture
University of Oxford Commissions Goddard CHARMS Facility to Characterize Optics Used for a Ground-Based Infrared InstrumentPartnershipU. of OxfordCryogenic High Accuracy Refraction Measuring System (CHARMS)
Harris Corporation Evaluating SpaceWire Router for Its Own Space Applications PartnershipHarris CorporationSpaceWire standard and router
Nanotechnology Research Benefits from Collaboration PartnershipNational Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)Access to NIST's Advanced Measurement Lab
NASA Goddard Gives Howard Community College Students Hands-On Assessment Experience PartnershipHoward Community CollegeProviding NASA Technologies for Invention-to-Marketplace Classes
Smithsonian Solar Experiments Benefit from Unique NASA Goddard Facility PartnershipSmithsonian Astrophysical Observatorymulti-spectral reflective optical coating
Goddard Fuels Medical Research to Help Improve Diagnoses at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center PartnershipHarvard Beth Israel Deaconess Medical CenterHilbert-Huang Transform (HHT) technology
Goddard's HHT Shows Promise for Radio Frequency Communications Tech TransferBCG WirelessHilbert-Huang Transform (HHT) technology
Goddard Technologies Give University of Baltimore Students Hands-On Assessment Experience with the "Lab to Market" Program PartnershipUniversity of BaltimoreProviding NASA Technologies for Invention-to-Marketplace Classes
Low-Cost, High-Quality Carbon Nanotubes Enter the Marketplace Tech TransferIdaho Space Materialssingle-walled carbon nanotube fabrication process
NASA Enters Agreement to Attract High-Tech Companies to Maryland PartnershipMaryland Department of Business and Economic DevelopmentAccess to GSFC facilities and technology
Goddard Technologies Selected for Innovative Entrepreneurship Program with UMBC PartnershipU. of Maryland, Baltimore CountyACTiVATE Program