TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER LICENSING OPPORTUNITY: Self-Cleaning Seals (Electrodynamic Dust Shield Technology) (KSC-TOPS-101)
Open Special Notice Posted
- Solicitation number
- T2P-KSC-00057
- Agency
-
Marshall Space Flight Center
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Responses due
- Set-aside
- No set-aside
Opportunity facts
- NAICS code
- 927110 Space Research and Technology
- PSC
- 9999 Miscellaneous Items
- Points of contact
-
- NASA's Technology Transfer Program agency-patent-licensing@mail.nasa.gov
Notice details come from SAM.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
This Special Notice announces a technology transfer licensing opportunity from NASA's Kennedy Space Center for the commercialization of self-cleaning seal technology utilizing electrodynamic dust shield technology (designated KSC-TOPS-101). The National Aeronautics and Space Administration published this notice on March 24, 2026, to solicit inquiries from companies interested in obtaining exclusive or nonexclusive license rights to manufacture and market the technology. The opportunity falls under the Space Research and Technology NAICS category and represents part of NASA's broader Technology Transfer Program. No federal funding is provided in conjunction with these potential licenses. This is a civilian agency technology transfer initiative targeting commercial development and market applications.
The technology addresses the critical challenge of maintaining seal integrity in high-dust environments, particularly for space applications involving lunar and Martian missions where regolith accumulation degrades seal performance and increases leak rates in pressurized systems. The innovation also has terrestrial applications in industries such as mining and material handling where dust concentration and pressurized system safety are concerns. Interested companies must submit license applications through NASA's Automated Technology Licensing Application System (ATLAS) by the March 2, 2027 deadline, accessible at https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/KSC-TOPS-101. There are no specific set-aside requirements or stated eligibility restrictions beyond the standard licensing application process. Inquiries and questions should be directed to NASA's Technology Transfer Program at Agency-Patent-Licensing@mail.nasa.gov, with reference to this opportunity's title in any correspondence.
Notice text
NASA’s Technology Transfer Program solicits inquiries from companies interested in obtaining license rights to commercialize, manufacture and market the following technology. License rights may be issued on an exclusive or nonexclusive basis and may include specific fields of use. NASA provides no funding in conjunction with these potential licenses.
THE TECHNOLOGY:
In space applications, seals for hatches, suit ports, airlocks, and docking systems for pressurized volumes such as habitats, rovers, and space suits must be kept clean. This is necessary to achieve the extremely low leak rates required to ensure that crews will have sufficient breathable air for extended missions on planetary surfaces. Dusty environments, such as those of the Moon and Mars, pose challenges because seals (elastomeric and otherwise) – as dust accumulates on them – will no longer perform as designed, substantially increasing leak rates. Similarly, terrestrial applications involving environments with high dust concentration and pressurized systems (e.g., mining, material handling) must maintain clean seals to ensure safety and uptime. Motivated by the hazard lunar regolith poses to seals – and thus to achieving a sustained lunar presence – researchers in the Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) have developed seals that actively self-clean in a continuous or periodic manner.
To express interest in this licensing opportunity, please submit a license application through NASA’s Automated Technology Licensing Application System (ATLAS) by visiting https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/KSC-TOPS-101
If you have any questions, please e-mail NASA’s Technology Transfer Program at Agency-Patent-Licensing@mail.nasa.gov with the title of this Technology Transfer Opportunity as listed in this SAM.gov notice and your preferred contact information. For more information about licensing other NASA-developed technologies, please visit the NASA Technology Transfer Portal at https://technology.nasa.gov/.
These responses are provided to members of NASA’s Technology Transfer Program for the purpose of promoting public awareness of NASA-developed technology products, and conducting preliminary market research to determine public interest in and potential for future licensing opportunities. No follow-on procurement is expected to result from responses to this Notice.
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