Cooperative Agreement NNS16AA48A

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, was awarded a $113,565.56 grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on April 1, 2018 to conduct research on nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) technology. The goal of this research is to support NASA's plans for manned deep space missions in the 2030s, as NTP can provide high specific impulse and thrust, enabling reduced trip times beyond low Earth orbit. This grant is part of NASA's efforts to develop technologies that can expand...

This federal contract award to the University of Tennessee (UT) is intended to support the development of nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) technology. The goal is to identify and qualify nuclear fuel form properties through non-nuclear testing, which is essential for modeling fuel behavior and predicting performance. This work supports NASA's objective to expand human presence into the solar system, including a planned human mission to Mars in the 2030s. The $248,157.47 award, funded by NASA, is...

NASA has awarded a $122,528 firm fixed price Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I contract to TGV Rockets Inc., a minority-owned small disadvantaged business, to develop a modular pump based on the company's electrocycle motor technology to support the ground testing of nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) systems. NTP is an advanced propulsion concept that NASA is pursuing for potential human missions to Mars. The research aims to address NTP start-up transients, evaluate design...

This is a $484,590 grant awarded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to the University of Tennessee for research related to nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) systems. The purpose is to develop a viable fuel form that can withstand the extreme temperature and hydrogen environments required for NTP. The University of Tennessee, operating under the Board of Regents Tennessee, has extensive experience conducting scientific research and implementing initiatives for various...

NTS Technical Systems, doing business as NTS, has been awarded a $27,517 firm fixed price purchase order by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Shared Services Center to perform deployment shock testing of the Roberts Reefing Line Cutter (RLC) in support of ESTA Test #3P0223. Work will be conducted by NTS at its facility in Agua Dulce, California over a period of five months concluding in December 2023. As part of NASA's ongoing efforts to ensure the safety and reliability...

The Aerospace Corporation was awarded a $999,215.09 cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order contract by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Marshall Space Flight Center to provide objective, independent, non-advocate recommendations to the Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) project. This order was not set aside. The Aerospace Corporation is a federally funded research and development center that provides engineering, research, advisory, management, and technical services to support...

This is a $124,415 firm-fixed-price Phase I SBIR contract awarded by NASA to Little Prairie Services LLC, doing business as Desert Fox Engineering Services. The contract supports the development of multi-physics analyses to document the safety of nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) systems during launch. The goal is to reduce programmatic uncertainty around NTP technology by demonstrating the reactor will not become critical during potential impact or compaction scenarios. This work builds on prior...

This is a $242,905.60 firm-fixed-price delivery order awarded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Shared Services Center to KBR Wyle Services, LLC, a subsidiary of parent company KBR, Inc. The contract provides a unique combination of modeling, integration, and testing support for nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) systems. The work will be performed in Lexington Park, Maryland. KBR Wyle Services, as a large business, leverages the technical capabilities of its parent...

This federal contract award to Plasma Processes, LLC, a small business, is for the development of diffusion bonding techniques to produce full-size tungsten cermet nuclear fuel rods for NASA's Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) program. NTP is a critical technology for human missions to Mars due to its increased specific impulse compared to traditional chemical propulsion. The $125,000 firm-fixed-price Phase I SBIR contract is focused on evaluating refractory metal interfacial coatings to...

This is a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I contract awarded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp (Usnc), a for-profit advanced nuclear technology company. The objective of this $123,521 Firm Fixed Price contract is to investigate passive technology that will enable criticality control of a Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) reactor during operation, with the goal of minimizing the need for mechanical movement of the control...