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Find similar grantsRotating Detonation Combustion Satellite Thruster Using Novel, Non-toxic Propellants is sponsored by National Science Foundation. Development of a new satellite thruster with improved performance over competing chemical propulsion solutions.
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NSF 2024 Rotating Detonation Combustion Satellite Thruster Using Novel, Non-toxic Propellants | www. inknowvation. com > https://gasparesganga.
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com/labs/jquery-loading-overlay/#examples --> Rotating Detonation Combustion Satellite Thruster Using Novel, Non-toxic Propellants Award last edited on: 3/19/2026 NSF : National Science Foundation 33530 1st Way S Suite 102 Start Date: 9/15/2024 Completed: 8/31/2025 This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a new satellite thruster with improved performance over competing chemical propulsion solutions.
The space economy is rapidly growing to a projected $1 trillion industry by 2030. Despite the strong demand for products and services offered by space providers, there remains a large barrier to accessing and operating in space.
The key driver in the economics of operation in space is the performance of the propulsion systems used for transferring the satellite to its intended orbit, performing orbital maneuvers, station-keeping, and de-orbiting at the end of life.
Currently, a large portion of the satellite mass must be allocated to propellant, significantly limiting the size and weight that can be allocated to revenue-generating and mission-critical functions like imaging, telecommunications, and other scientific objectives.
The thruster developed under this Phase I is projected to operate with significantly higher specific impulse than the current highest-performance solution, leading to an increase in satellite lifespan on the order of 100% in low earth orbit. This new paradigm will permit improvements such as a 40% increase in camera resolution, or an increase of 40% in the amount of mass that can be moved to geostationary orbit.
The intellectual merit of this project is the development of a new in-space thruster using rotating detonation combustion (RDC) and non-toxic propellants. RDC uses detonation combustion to burn reactants at a higher pressure and extract more usable kinetic energy for the same amount of propellant mass. This SBIR effort will also innovate the use of non-toxic propellants which heretofore have not been investigated for use in an RDC.
The overall objective for the NSF SBIR program is to develop a pre-flight qualification RDC satellite thruster prototype by focusing on three major goals: (1) development of a performance and detonation prediction tool, (2) demonstration of RDC for the thrust class and propellants of interest, and (3) demonstration of the performance benefit of RDC for the application.
These goals will be achieved through a parallel efforts to develop an advanced computational modelling tool as well as initiatives for production and hot-fire testing of the first prototype. By the end of the Phase I program, the goal is to advance the technology to a higher state of feasibility: demonstration of the prototypes performance in a relevant, vacuum environment.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. Contract Number: ---------- Start Date: 00/00/00 Completed: 00/00/00 Enter any username and password. Forgot your username?
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According to the current listing, eligibility includes: Open to U. S. citizens; research conducted at collaborating institutions. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
The current listing shows $275,000. Verify award ceilings, matching requirements, and allowable costs in the official notice.
Rotating Detonation Combustion Satellite Thruster Using Novel, Non-toxic Propellants is funded by National Science Foundation. Verify program details on the funder's official page before applying.
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SBIR/STTR Phase I Programs is sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF). The NSF SBIR/STTR programs provide non-dilutive funding for cutting-edge technology innovations that address societal challenges. The Space (SP) topic seeks transformative technologies for sustainable space exploration, habitation, or industrialization, which could include in-space research or manufacturing systems, microgravity applications, and photonic devices and materials.
Smart Health and Biomedical Research in the Era of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Data Science (SCH) is sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH). This interagency program supports transformative, high-risk/high-reward advances in computer and information science, engineering, mathematics, statistics, behavioral, and/or cognitive research to address pressing questions in biomedical and public health. It encourages scientific and engineering innovations by interdisciplinary teams to develop novel methods to collect, sense, connect, analyze, and interpret data from individuals, devices, and systems, enabling discovery and optimizing health. This includes applying AI in healthcare.
NVIDIA Graduate Fellowship Program is a grant from NVIDIA providing up to $60,000 per award to PhD students conducting research that advances accelerated computing and its applications. Now in its 25th year, the program invites nominations from doctoral students pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous vehicles, and related fields. Recipients receive not only research funding but also access to NVIDIA technology, products, and engineering expertise, along with a mandatory in-person summer internship. Students are nominated by their faculty advisors and selected based on academic achievement and research area alignment.
CalSEED Concept Award is a grant from the California Energy Commission that provides $150,000 in funding to early-stage clean energy innovators in California. The program targets individuals, businesses, and nonprofits developing hardware, software, or integrated solutions at Technology Readiness Levels 2-4. Eligible technology areas rotate each cycle and have included battery recycling and reuse, long-duration energy storage, medium- and heavy-duty vehicle electrification, industrial electrification, and advanced EV charging. Applicants must be located in California, have under $1 million in private funding, and propose innovations that benefit California ratepayers. Concept Award winners also receive professional development resources and access to accelerator programs, and may compete for a subsequent $450,000 Prototype Award.
NSF restarted its SBIR/STTR programs on May 31, 2026 after a multi-month hiatus, with a $250 million FY26 allocation, a Project Pitch portal reopen on June 2, and a first full-proposal deadline of July 27, 2026. The big structural changes: a new Strategic Breakthrough tier that extends invited Phase II companies up to $30 million, and a $40 million pilot for next-generation scientific instrumentation. Phase I tops out at $305K, Phase II at $1.25M, with November 4 and March 4, 2027 windows behind the July 27 first deadline. For deep-tech startups that watched the NIH SBIR omnibus go dark and DARPA pull back on conventional Phase II slots, this is the most consequential reopening of the year — and the Strategic Breakthrough tier is the first time NSF has competed directly with venture capital at growth-stage check sizes.
Read articleThe NSF FY 2026-2030 Strategic Plan reorganizes the agency around three goals, names AI, quantum, and biotech as the critical technologies, codifies Gold Standard Science, and explicitly targets applicant burden. The implications for proposal strategy are bigger than they look.
Read articleCongress appropriated \$8.75 billion for NSF in FY2026, rejecting the administration's proposed 55% cut to \$3.9 billion. But between April and May 2025, DOGE terminated 1,752 grants worth \$1.4 billion, hitting STEM Education (\$888M, 839 grants) and Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences hardest. Director Panchanathan resigned April 24, 2025; no permanent replacement has been named. Effective December 15, 2025, NSF cut minimum external reviews from three to two, made one internal review allowable, made panel discussions optional, and shrank panel summaries to three to five sentences. Here is what the new NSF actually looks like as a funder, who is being selected against, and how to position a 2026 proposal against the new merit review.
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