NASA SBIR 2014 Solicitation

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Plasma Processes, LLC
4914 Moores Mill Road
Huntsville, AL 35811 - 1558
(256) 851-7653

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Timothy McKechnie
timmck@plasmapros.com
4914 Moores Mill Road
Huntsville, AL 35811 - 1558
(256) 851-7653 Extension :103

CORPORATE/BUSINESS OFFICIAL (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Angela M Hattaway
ahattaway@plasmapros.com
4914 Moores Mill Road
Huntsville, AL 35811 - 1558
(256) 851-7653 Extension :116

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 4

Technology Available (TAV) Subtopics
In-Space Chemical Propulsion is a Technology Available (TAV) subtopic that includes NASA Intellectual Property (IP). Do you plan to use the NASA IP under the award?
No

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (Limit 2000 characters, approximately 200 words)
NASA's Road Maps for both Launch and In Space Propulsion call for the development of non-toxic, monopropellant reaction control systems to replace current state-of-art hydrazine. The Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle capsule with twelve 160 pound force (lbf) hydrazine monopropellant thrusters and the Orion Service Module with eight 100lbf NTO/MMH auxiliary propulsion thrusters are obvious insertion candidates. Additionally, the Commercial Crew and Cargo spacecraft have also demonstrated the need for 100lbf class attitude control thrusters with quantities comparable to Orion. Hydrazine replacements, including HAN- and ADN-monopropellants, combust at higher temperatures making them incompatible with current Inconel 625 thrusters used in 100lbf engines. In addition, Orion MPCV models indicate when current thrusters are fired during re-entry, the extra thermal loads of re-entry may exceed the operating envelope of Inconel. In support of NASA's goal to replace hydrazine and the need for higher performance 100lbf class engines, Plasma Processes proposes to design, fabricate and test a 100lbf thruster with emphasis on non-toxic propellant, increased performance, ease of manufacturing and cost reduction.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
NASA applications include reaction control thrusters for the Orion MPCV capsule and service module; 100lbf thrusters in support of Commercial Crew and Cargo spacecraft; Reaction Control Systems for Space Launch System

POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
Non-NASA applications include Commercial Access to Space programs including the lift/space craft programs for SpaceX Falcon/Dragon and Orbital Antares/Cygnus; Satellite insertion and positioning; and tactical missile divert and attitude control.