National Aeronautics 

and Space Administration

Goddard Space Flight Center

Innovative Partnerships Program Office

Building 22, Room 290, Mailstop 504

Greenbelt, Maryland 20771

phone: 301.286.5810

fax: 301.286.0301

e-mail: techtransfer@gsfc.nasa.gov

web: http://ipp.nasa.gov

www.nasa.gov

NP-2011-06-149-GSFC
Accomplishments Report

REFLECTING on 2011

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Goddard Space Flight Center’s 

Innovative Partnerships Program Office
Table of Contents

 4 Overview 2011

 6 Wavefront 

 10 Goddard Mission Services Evolution Center (GMSEC) 

 14 Software Development 

 18 Intermediaries

 23 NASA Goddard SBIR/STTR Awards

 25 Business Networking and Outreach

REFLECTING on 2011

Photo and cover by Chris Gunn
Nona Minnifield Cheeks

CHIEF

Innovative Patnerships 

Program Office 

NASA Goddard Space 

Flight Center The year 2011 has been a very busy and eventful one for the Innovative 

Partnerships Program Office (IPPO). Our ongoing efforts to bring new 

technologies and capabilities into NASA Goddard Space Flight Center — and 

to make NASA Goddard technologies available for commercialization — have 

resulted in the IPPO working with a broad spectrum of highly talented companies, 

organizations, and people.

In the past year, we’ve engaged in forms of collaboration that represent new territory for 

us, such as our association with publisher Tor-Forge Books to produce NASA-inspired works 

of science fiction. We reestablished collaborating with academia by signing an agreement with the 

University of Baltimore’s Merrick School of Business. In this program, Master of Business Administration 

candidates provide their unique “outside the box” perspectives to suggest novel applications and markets for 

NASA Goddard technologies.

In addition, we continue to work closely with more “traditional” partners, including intermediary organizations 

that represent specific regions, industry segments, and scientific and technical interests. These organizations help 

ensure that we find the best possible candidates for partnering with NASA Goddard.

This accomplishment report looks back on some of the more noteworthy accomplishments for NASA Goddard’s 

IPPO during 2011. This includes a summary of the major technology themes presented in the previous issues 

of the NASA Goddard Tech Transfer magazines we published this past year. These themes include wavefront 

sensing, the Goddard Mission Services Evolution Center (GMSEC), and state-of-the-art software development. 

For each theme, we review several of the more interesting technologies and how they impact space and nonspace applications. This report also reflects on the process of partnering with NASA Goddard, and highlights 

a few examples of 2011 events that were designed to promote NASA Goddard capabilities and collaborative 

opportunities. 

The image of the James Webb Space Telescope mirror segment shown on the front cover symbolizes the overall 

theme of this report — reflecting on the past, while clearly focused on what lies ahead. This represents the 

IPPO’s attitude as well, as we look forward to furthering our collaboration and partnership successes throughout 

2012 and beyond.

From the Chief

Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office Accomplishments 2011 • PAGE 3
Overview

2011
In this special Accomplishments Report issue, we look back on a few of the more noteworthy tech transfer accomplishments, 

opportunities, and events from calendar year 2011. In particular, we focus on three technical areas in which NASA 

Goddard scientists and innovators have been especially active: 

 • Wavefront, an important component of NASA Goddard’s 

optical development, involves obtaining the most data 

possible from the electromagnetic spectrum. Wavefront 

technologies have long been one of NASA Goddard’s 

most essential areas of expertise, supporting many 

missions through the years. Many of these technologies 

can now be adapted to a wide variety of commercial 

applications.

 • Goddard Mission Services Evolution Center (GMSEC) 

is an initiative started within NASA Goddard to develop 

a common messaging system interface that allows 

different hardware and software systems to easily work

 together. GMSEC offers the potential of shortening 

the development for new ground support systems by 

several orders of magnitude through “modularizing” 

system development. It also provides an opportunity 

in which commercial software developers can sell to 

NASA Goddard — and potentially other government 

agencies.

 • Software Development is a broad area within NASA 

Goddard that includes tools that allow for the creation 

of working code much faster and easier — and in some 

cases, without requiring any previous programming 

experience. We provide a quick tour of several 

especially interesting and creative examples of our 

ongoing software development effort, and look at a few 

potential commercial markets and applications to which 

they could be adapted.

We also briefly review the work of the NASA Goddard IPPO 

and the many ways in which they identify the best possible 

partnership opportunities for the Center. Among these efforts 

are events such as NASA Goddard Industry Day 2011, in 

which NASA Goddard technologies were presented to 

potential partners from a variety of industry segments.

Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office Accomplishments 2011 • PAGE 5
Throughout its existence, many of NASA Goddard Space Flight 

Center’s most important missions have involved capturing and 

analyzing electromagnetic radiation, and using this data to explore 

and understand the universe. These missions include some of NASA 

Goddard’s most high-profile success stories, including the Hubble Space 

Telescope (HST) and the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

The Wavefront Sensing and Control Group, along with numerous 

other NASA Goddard scientists and inventors, have produced 

a wide variety of wavefront sensing technologies that 

support our current and future space science missions. 

These technologies comprise a substantial and versatile 

intellectual properties (IP) portfolio. And the features 

and advantages that these inventions provide — many 

of which have been designed to maximize optical 

performance while minimizing size, weight, and energy 

requirements — make them attractive to many potential 

terrestrial applications.

In this section, we look at several interesting examples of wavefront technologies 

NASA Goddard has in development. We review several potential markets for 

our wavefront portfolio, including astronomical research, ISR (intelligence, 

surveillance, and reconnaissance), metrology, and optometry/ophthalmology. 

We’ll briefly summarize the opportunities provided by each of these markets, 

and how wavefront sensing technologies such as adaptive optics can provide 

significant value within each. We also look back at last October’s Wavefront 

and Adaptive Optics Industry Day Workshop, in which attendees had one-on-one 

technical discussions with NASA Goddard wavefront scientists and engineers, and 

explored licensing/partnering opportunities with the NASA Goddard IPPO. This workshop 

was part of NASA Goddard’s ongoing “Can you See it Now?” campaign to bring awareness 

to NASA Goddard’s expertise in wavefront sensing and adaptive optics capabilities.

Wavefront

The Wavefront Sensing and Control Group, along with numerous 

other NASA Goddard scientists and inventors, have produced 

a wide variety of wavefront sensing technologies that 

support our current and future space science missions. 

These technologies comprise a substantial and versatile 

intellectual properties (IP) portfolio. And the features 

and advantages that these inventions provide — many 

of which have been designed to maximize optical 

performance while minimizing size, weight, and energy 

In this section, we look at several interesting examples of wavefront technologies 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

volume 9, number 1 | Winter 2011

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Optometry and Ophthalmology

Patenting Perspectives

Networking and Outreach

Metrics

ICB Awards

Partnership Profiles

From the Chief

Can You See It Now?

Featured Interview

Astronomy

Application Insight

Metrology

Intel, Surveillance, Recon

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Photo by Chris Gunn

Six of the James 

Webb Space 

Telescope’s 

primary mirror 

segments. 

These mirrors 

will be aligned 

and controlled 

by software 

developed at 

GSFC. Wavefront Sensing Issue
Wavefront Technologies 

Market Opportunities

Over the years, one of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s most 

critical areas of focus has been to develop technologies that capture 

and analyze the various forms of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) 

produced by the universe, and then analyze it. This of course is the 

main purpose of the HST and its successor, the JWST.

Wavefront technologies offer a broad array of partnership 

opportunities. In some instances, partnering involves collaborating 

with NASA Goddard to develop a technology to be used in support 

of a mission or goal. In other cases, the partnership could take the 

form of a licensing agreement in which (for instance) a company 

obtains the rights to a wavefront technology and develops one or 

more commercial products from it.

Wavefront Collaboration Example: 

the Hybrid Diversity Algorithm 

The Hybrid Diversity Algorithm (HDA) builds upon technology 

originally developed for Hubble that has been adapted to the needs of 

the James Webb Space Telescope. The HDA estimates imperfections 

in an optical system via an adaptive iterative process. JWST presents 

some unprecedented and unique challenges. For example, JWST 

requires a 6.5 meter primary mirror, far too large and cumbersome 

to easily launch into orbit. So the primary has been designed as a 

set of 18 hexagonal mirrors with a common center of focus, which 

collectively work like a single mirror. This creates several alignment 

issues, so NASA needed to find a way to keep all of these segments 

working together and able to deliver a diffraction-limited resolution, 

to take full advantage of the space-based platform. 

NASA approached this issue using a method called phase retrieval, 

in which a number of defocused images from the optical system 

are acquired, and then analyzed to determine the wavefront. The 

algorithms used to perform this analysis are subject to phase wrapping 

errors, which can result in two different wavefront measurements 

for the same system. Fortunately, the HDA provides phase retrieval 

without phase wrapping. 

HDA offers commercial potential beyond the JWST mission. For 

wavefront technologies, these markets can be as diverse as medical 

imaging and metrology.

Photo by Chris Gunn

Photo by Chris Gunn

Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office Accomplishments 2011 • PAGE 7
Wavefront Technologies and Medical Imaging

The optometry community has begun to recognize the potential benefits of 

wavefront sensing, including earlier and better detection of the onset of eye disease, 

and personalized corrective lens (which correct for higher order aberrations than 

can be currently detected). Another interesting market is ophthalmology, the second 

science (after astronomy) to adopt adaptive optics techniques. Adaptive optics 

technologies could be used in a range of applications, offering the potential to 

diagnose a variety of specific diseases, and could be highly useful for clinical studies 

of rare diseases. 

There are a wide variety of NASA Goddard inventions 

which in theory could be adapted to the requirements 

and challenges of optometry and ophthalmology. 

For instance, the iterative Transform Phase-Retrieval 

Utilizing Adaptive Diversity (GSC-14879-1) is suitable 

for multiple applications, including as an alternative to 

interferometers in applications that require wavefront 

sensing and control. This is a phase-diverse-phaseretrieval iterative-transform algorithm for imagebased wavefront sensing. It recovers high-spatial 

frequency, high-dynamic range wavefront data using 

only video or still camera inputs. This algorithm 

combines iterative-transform and parametric phase 

recovery techniques to allow for both high-spatial 

frequency and high dynamic range wavefront sensing. 

Wavefront calculations occur in the software, making 

the expensive hardware used in interferometry 

unnecessary.

Photo by United States Army

Photo by United States Navy
Metrology

The metrology community has adopted a number of techniques designed to coax 

optimum precision from their optical tools. One area of recent interest is adaptive 

optics, which is now being explored for its metrology potential. Although originally 

designed for space and astronomy applications, NASA Goddard adaptive optics technologies already offer significant promise in advancing the science of metrology.

Another field associated with metrology (and in particular, the expanding field of 

nanotechnology) is microscopy. For example, adaptive optical elements in a widefield microscope solve a number of problems, including correcting aberrations due to 

the refractive index mismatches, focusing through thick samples without moving the 

sample or the objective, and correcting for aberrations caused by three-dimensional 

index variations within the sample, and also identifying phase and intensity objects 

over many orders of magnitude (high dynamic range imaging).

Phase retrieval is a promising tool for optical metrology, one that could prove to be 

very useful due to the simplicity of the approach, and by the variety of surfaces and 

systems that it could be used to measure.

Wavefront and Adaptive Optics

Technology Briefing Outreach 

to Industry

The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center hosted the Wavefront and Adaptive Optics 

Technology Briefing Workshop on November 3, 2011. The Workshop was part of 

NASA Goddard’s ongoing “Can you See it Now?” technology transfer campaign. The 

campaign is designed to raise awareness of NASA Goddard’s expertise in wavefront 

sensing and adaptive optics. 

During the Workshop, attendees from many different industries had the opportunity 

to review specific technologies and facilities related to NASA Goddard’s wavefront 

portfolio. The featured technologies have been identified as offering potential 

application and commercial viability beyond NASA’s needs. To help understand how 

these technologies could be adapted to commercial markets and products, attendees 

also had one-on-one discussions with NASA Goddard innovators. Among the NASA 

Goddard innovators on hand to meet with attendees were:

 • Dr. Bruce Dean, Optical Physicist and Group Leader for the Optics Branch of the 

Wavefront Sensing and Control Group. He has published and spoken extensively 

in the field of wavefront sensing and control systems, and holds patent #7,635,832 

for “Hybrid diversity method utilizing adaptive diversity function for recovering 

unknown aberrations in an optical system.” He has also received numerous awards 

and accolades, including NASA Headquarters Exceptional Technology Achievement 

Medal (2009) and the NASA Goddard Honor Award for Engineering Achievement 

(2004). Dr. Dean is a current member of the Optical Society of American (OSA).

 • Mr. Rick Lyon, Optical Scientist with a professional interest in research and 

development of complex astronomical imaging systems including filled, segmented 

and sparse aperture telescopes, coronagraphs, and imaging interferometers. He 

developed serial and parallel modeling and simulation approaches and algorithms 

for wavefront control, planetary detection, optimal detection, image deconvolution, 

and phasing of multiple aperture interferometric systems. Mr. Lyon has published 

167 papers and 17 major technical reports, and spoken at 26 conferences.

Photo by NASA

Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office Accomplishments 2011 • PAGE 9
The Goddard Mission Services Evolution Center 

(GMSEC) is a software architecture that enables 

different applications and components to seamlessly 

work together through a common messaging system 

interface. This allows developers to design, test, and 

implement a support system in a fraction of the time it 

would take to build it the “traditional” way, from the ground 

up. It also makes it far easier to upgrade and maintain a 

system for years or even decades, without locking into any 

one vendor, since components can now be swapped out and 

added as needed. This is a critical consideration for long-term 

missions.

GMSEC was originally designed to support NASA 

Goddard satellite missions. More recently, the 

use of GMSEC has spread well beyond NASA 

Goddard. One example is the U.S. Air Force, 

whose commitment to GMSEC now rivals 

NASA Goddard’s own. Other NASA centers and 

government agencies have also expressed interest 

in adopting the GMSEC platform. Today, GMSEC 

is responsible for one of the highest numbers of 

Tech Transfer Agreements among NASA Goddard 

technologies. And many commercial developers are 

already benefitting from the fact that it provides an important avenue for 

selling to NASA Goddard and other government agencies.

This section summarizes GMSEC’s current and future goals. We also take 

a quick look at GMSEC components and the benefits they offer, which differ 

from application to application, and agency to agency. In addition, we discuss some of the many technology transfer opportunities GMSEC provides. 

GMSEC

GMSEC was originally designed to support NASA 

Goddard satellite missions. More recently, the 

use of GMSEC has spread well beyond NASA 

Goddard. One example is the U.S. Air Force, 

whose commitment to GMSEC now rivals 

NASA Goddard’s own. Other NASA centers and 

government agencies have also expressed interest 

in adopting the GMSEC platform. Today, GMSEC 

technologies. And many commercial developers are 

already benefitting from the fact that it provides an important avenue for 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

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Networking and Outreach

Partnership Profiles 

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From the Chief

GMSEC Opportunities

Featured Interview

GMSEC Technical Overview

Benefits of GMSEC

Transferring GMSEC 

Technology

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volume 9, number 2 | Spring 2011

GMSEC Issue

The GMSEC software platform expands system design options 

and simplifies mission operations for satellite missions.
Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office Accomplishments 2011 • PAGE 11

A New Environment 

for Developing and 

Implementing Satellite 

Controls

The year 2011 saw the continued development and adoption of GMSEC. 

GMSEC is an architecture designed to provide a layer of commonality 

and integration for ground operation center software systems. 

GMSEC provides a standard software architecture for developing systems 

where applications communicate and exchange data over a messaging bus. The 

high-level advantages of this approach are probably readily apparent: By writing 

to a standard interface, developers can add and replace applications without 

disrupting other components of the system. Further, designers can build their 

systems by selecting from a catalog of existing applications, rather than having 

to create (or heavily modify) each application for each system. This means that 

systems can be put together much more quickly and cheaply, using components 

that in many cases have already been coded, debugged, and proven in the field. 

GMSEC Architecture

The GMSEC framework/information bus consists of an API (application 

programming interface), standard messages, and underlying middleware. 

This includes eight NASA Goddard-created components: GREAT 

(GMSEC Reusable Event Analysis Toolkit), CAT (Criteria Action Table), 

ANSR (Alert Notification System Router), GEDAT (GMSEC Environment 

Diagnostic Analysis Tool), System Agent, GRASP (GMSEC Remote Access 

Service Provider), GPD (GMSEC Parameter Display), and RAA (Room 

Alert Adapter). In addition, there is a catalog of GMSEC-compliant vendor 

applications from which to choose when building a GMSEC-based system.

The API is the backbone of GMSEC; it allows applications to subscribe and 

publish to the middleware, irrespective of which middleware is selected. 

This helps reduce application development to its simplest form, relieving 

it of the communications burden: a component only needs to know how 

to send information to, or get information from, the information bus via 

the API. The API has been instantiated for several different programming 

languages, including C, C++, Java and Perl. 

Automation is an important capability for GMSEC systems. Each 

software application publishes its status on the GMSEC message bus. 

Other components read and assess these messages and can send directives 

in response to discovered conditions. For instance, if the schedule reports 

that a satellite contact should be starting and then the start of data is 

not reported within 30 seconds, the system can automatically page the 

supervisor, check the status of the system hardware, and send a request for 

the antenna site to try again to acquire the data.

The GMSEC architecture allows for domain-specific components to be easily integrated 

with general purpose system support tools developed by the GMSEC team.

Photo by Bill Hrybyk

• Compliance 

Tester

• API automated 

test suite

• Message 

recorder

Test 

Tools

Monitoring 

Tools

• Network 

Performance

• Node 

Performance

• Environment

Sensing

GMSEC Core

Situational 

Tools

• Configuration 

Display

• Intergrated 

status and 

alarm displays

• Paging System

Automation

Tools

• Scripting Tools

• Rule-based 

automation

• Rule-based

au tomation

Message Bus (multiple choices) via API Software Bridge

Domain-Specific Components
GMSEC News in 2011

GMSEC Lab Gets a New Look

During the year, the GMSEC laboratory received a major upgrade. This included 

new equipment that will more closely model an actual satellite ground support 

environment. “The old lab looked like a software development facility, which is 

basically what it was” explains Dan Smith, Project Manager for GMSEC. “It really 

didn’t have the look or feel of a mission control center.” The upgraded facility, on the 

other hand, presents a far more realistic, real-world atmosphere. “The ultimate goal 

will still be to demonstrate GMSEC, of course” notes Dan. “But we’ll be doing so in 

a room that emulates a ground mission, using data from real projects.”

Benefits

GMSEC provides a number of important benefits to 

NASA Goddard missions. According to Dan Smith, 

GMSEC Project Manager, the most important 

of these benefits is that GMSEC makes it easier 

to create systems with high levels of automation, 

thereby reducing cost and risk. In addition, since 

more commercial command and control products 

are now GMSEC compatible, this increases the 

choice of applications for missions. At the same 

time, software engineers can still use “old favorite” 

legacy applications if they are GMSEC-compliant, 

which often makes developers more willing to adopt 

this approach.

Adopting GSMEC has already paid dividends. For 

instance, Jim Busch, who was a lead engineer for 

the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) 

ground system reengineering effort, stated after the 

redesign efforts that “TRMM has realized a reduction 

in flight operations costs of over 50% as compared with the pre-GMSEC architecture.” 

A major reason for the cost reduction is the ability to use GMSEC components to 

enable new levels of automation and to support “lights out” operations for nights and 

weekends – the system can call the appropriate person if there is a problem.

GMSEC also enjoys strong support from commercial product vendors, but not by 

having them commercialize NASA Goddard technologies. Instead, vendors realize 

that offering GMSEC-compliant products allows them to more easily market their 

capabilities to NASA and other U.S. Government agencies. According to Dan Smith, 

“we have had vendors come forward and say ’We can do GMSEC for you,’ but that’s 

not what we want. We’ve made the core of GMSEC available as Open Source software. 

Doing so prevents GMSEC from becoming a proprietary company product.” 

Ultimately, however, the major benefit GMSEC provides to commercial software 

developers is the market it creates for them. “We’re at the point of achieving critical 

mass,” states Dan. “Our vendors are saying, ‘If I support GMSEC, look at all the 

potential government customers I’ll have.’ It’s really started to take hold.”

Photo courtesy of ORS
The upgraded lab now allows Dan and his team to 

demonstrate individual projects for ground system 

support. Simulations can use real data from actual 

missions. (For security reasons, this will not be 

real-time “live” data; but it will be information 

provided by working satellite systems.) In addition 

to offering a more operational appearance, the 

new lab can also simulate actual problems and 

conditions that might typically be encountered 

during a mission. Problematic data can be 

introduced into the system, allowing researchers 

to determine how well the GMSEC environment 

can handle it. “Simulated problems will look 

more like real problems,” adds Dan.

To ensure authenticity, the GMSEC laboratory was set up by the same personnel 

who install functioning ground control centers, rather than software developers. 

Equipment includes the same display hardware used by ground systems. “We’ve 

had a lot of success spreading the word about GMSEC,” states Dan. “And lab 

demonstrations have been an important part of that. Now, we’ll be able to do those 

demonstrations in a more realistic environment, one that looks familiar to many of 

our potential users.” 

Air Force Hosts GMSEC Industry Day

In September 2011, the United States Air Force held a GMSEC “industry day” 

at their Chantilly, VA facility. In attendance were approximately 35 government 

representatives, along with a number of commercial software vendors. The goal 

of the meeting, which ran from September 13 through September 16, was to 

allow vendors to demonstrate the GMSEC-compatibility of their software 

solutions, focusing on how each product performs its function within a GMSEC 

environment, rather than simply “showing off ” the product for marketing and 

sales purposes.

To do this, each product vendor was presented with a specific satellite-related scenario 

in which a “national situation” is underway. The vendor was then presented with a 

data stream, and then asked to demonstrate how their product solves this scenariobased problem. The success of these demonstrations offered some very powerful 

evidence for the value and utility of GMSEC.

During the meeting, vendors were asked two questions:

 • How long does it take to integrate GMSEC compatibility into your product?

 • Should the government be pursuing GMSEC compliance?

The answer to the first question was very consistent across vendors; most reported 

that it takes two weeks or so to fully integrate GMSEC into a product. This appears 

to indicate that GMSEC compliance would represent a relatively quick and painless 

step within the software development process.

In response to the second question, vendors were unanimous: the government 

should most definitely continue exploring GMSEC compliance. In fact, vendors 

stated that the entire software industry should be interested in developing initiatives 

such as GMSEC, to allow more interoperability and “plug and play” capability 

among components provided by multiple developers.

Other News

During the year, Barbie Medina was named the GMSEC Project Deputy. Among 

her primary responsibilities is to help increase the GMSEC team’s interaction with 

the NASA Goddard mission teams, and identify new products for development. 

In 2011, Dan Smith gave a presentation in which one of the goals talks about sharing 

technologies with other agencies, to help transform America’s space capabilities. The 

purpose of this talk was to stress GMSEC’s utility beyond solely supporting NASA 

missions.

And during the year, the GMSEC team continued to increase their involvement with 

outside organizations, including other NASA Centers and government agencies. 

The team received requests from an Air Force organization, the Food and Drug 

Administration, and several commercial product venders; all wanting to discuss the 

potential use of GMSEC and long-term collaborations.

The upgraded lab now allows Dan and his team to 

demonstrate individual projects for ground system 

support. Simulations can use real data from actual 

missions. (For security reasons, this will not be 

real-time “live” data; but it will be information 

provided by working satellite systems.) In addition 

to offering a more operational appearance, the 

new lab can also simulate actual problems and 

conditions that might typically be encountered 

during a mission. Problematic data can be 

Dan Smith, GMSEC Project Manager

Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office Accomplishments 2011 • PAGE 13
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is currently 

developing several leading-edge software strategies, 

designed to help robotic and other software-controlled 

systems perform more independently and intelligently 

in very remote and harsh environments. In this section, 

we review several key areas of NASA Goddard’s software 

development efforts. These include automated code 

generation and autonomous computing, which involves 

developing systems that can emulate biological processes. 

These technologies offer a broad variety of tech transfer 

opportunities for the commercial sector. For example, the multi-billion 

dollar robotics market may present a ready application for NASA Goddard 

technologies designed to allow devices to be programmed more quickly, or act 

more independently and make decisions based on the dynamic environments 

in which they operate. We examine how these features can be of value to all six 

major segments of the robotics industry, including space robots, industrial robots, 

military robots, security robots, domestic service robots, and professional service 

robots. And we look at how NASA Goddard’s work in automated code generation 

could provide a novel way for non-programmers to create code through various 

forms of input such as natural language.

We also discuss several autonomic technologies developed by NASA Goddard to 

mimic biological functions such as heartbeat, pulse, and apoptosis (a feature that 

prompts an unneeded or inactive component to shut down and remove itself from 

the system if a pre-defined expiration period passes without the component receiving 

a “reprieve” signal). These technologies can be applied to a number of critical 

applications involving security, maintenance, and troubleshooting.

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

developing several leading-edge software strategies, 

designed to help robotic and other software-controlled 

systems perform more independently and intelligently 

in very remote and harsh environments. In this section, 

we review several key areas of NASA Goddard’s software 

development efforts. These include automated code 

generation and autonomous computing, which involves 

developing systems that can emulate biological processes. 

opportunities for the commercial sector. For example, the multi-billion 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

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Patenting Perspectives

Networking and Outreach

Partnership Profiles 

Metrics

ICB Awards

From the Chief

Tech Transfer Opportunities

Featured Interview

Software Development

Autonomic Computing

Robotics

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volume 9, number 3 | Summer 2011

Automated Software Development Issue

Cover Art by Trina Cox

Software 

Development
NASA Goddard Software 

Technologies Market 

Opportunities 

NASA Goddard has decades of experience developing state-of-the-art 

computer software technologies and systems. Over the years, and continuing 

through 2011, these technologies have become increasingly advanced and 

sophisticated, in response to the growing demands for missions to function 

with little or no direct human operation. Currently there are several NASA 

Goddard technologies designed to allow robots to act more independently 

and make decisions. These include so-called “autonomic” technologies that 

emulate certain biological processes found within the human body. 

NASA Goddard has also taken the lead in creating systems that make the 

software development process itself much quicker, easier, and cheaper. A 

key component of this initiative is automated code generation, a technique 

that allows non-programmers to create working software.

These software technologies have clear commercial potential. It probably 

goes without saying that any technology that enables relatively untrained 

personnel to create sophisticated and fully operational computer programs 

would be of high interest to the software development industry. Similarly, 

technologies originally developed for space robotics can be adapted to the 

multi-billion dollar (and growing) commercial robotics market. In addition, 

autonomic computing concepts can be applied to a number of computer 

and network administration applications.

Automated Code Generation 

Basically, code generation tools allow non-programmers to create code, 

using various forms of input and interfaces. This input is then translated 

into functional code. Although such tools have been available for a number 

of years, the code they produce tends to be inefficient and error-prone. This 

is largely due to the difficulty in translating informal input, such as natural 

language, into code. As a result, such tools have yet to revolutionize the 

software industry; the vast majority of code, even relatively simply programs, 

still requires the expertise of a professional programmer.

NASA Goddard’s Computing Environments and Collaborative Technologies 

Branch has developed a number of technologies designed to greatly reduce the 

time and effort required to create software programs. These technologies can 

automatically create formal specifications and working code from informal 

natural language descriptions or flowcharts of the code logic. This means that 

programs could be created from their functional specifications, and that code 

design and creation can essentially be combined in a single step. This can 

also be a very useful tool for professional programmers, since they can now 

simulate their programs during the design stage to determine whether or not 

they are working as intended. This can significantly reduce debugging, since 

the program logic will already have been proven beforehand. In addition, 

NASA Goddard’s code generation technology can be “run in reverse” to 

create a description of existing code -- in other words, a programmer can 

input source code, which will be converted into a formal mathematical 

model. This model can then be translated more readily into a description of 

the code. 

Laws of 

Concurrency

Theorem 

Prover

Analysis Tracca 

Generator

Formal

Model

Paraphrasing

Natural Language 

Documentation

Model

Extraction

Trace 

Specs Traces

This diagram shows how NASA Goddard’s code generation technology can be used to reverse 

engineer software documentation for existing code. 

Photo from Wikimedia Commons

Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office Accomplishments 2011 • PAGE 15
According to a recent report by the research firm TechNavio, the commercial software 

market market for application design/development tools (often abbreviated as ADT) was 

estimated at almost $7 billion in 2010, growing at an annual rate of 4.6%. ADT includes 

third generation languages, unified development environments, web site design tools, and 

analysis, modeling, and design tools. NASA Goddard’s patented automated code generation 

technologies are positioned to address all four of the key drivers of the ADT market:

 • The need to rapidly develop applications to support changing 

business needs

 • Increased complexity and size of software projects

 • Dynamic business environments within enterprises

 • Integrating software programs

Software Enables Robotics 

NASA Goddard has developed numerous software 

technologies designed to support space science operations. 

A crucial capability needed for the success of these missions 

is the ability to allow robots to act with more autonomy, 

making decisions based on the demands of the dynamic 

environments in which they operate. 

A recent report from the Web site CompaniesAndMarkets.

com estimates the global market for robotic devices at 

approximately $21 billion. This same report projects that 

this market will grow to $30 billion by 2016. The robotics 

industry consists primarily of six major segments. These 

include space robots, industrial robots, military robots, 

security robots, domestic service robots, and professional 

service robots. These segments comprise a widely diverse 

market in which technologies designed to make it easier to 

control these robots — or allow them to control themselves 

— could be in high demand.

One key NASA Goddard technology that makes 

programming robots much easier and quicker is automated 

code generation, described earlier in this article. In addition, NASA Goddard has 

developed several artificial intelligence (AI) technologies applicable to robotic devices. 

A number of these AI features have been created with space missions in mind, where 

ground-based control is inconvenient and/or impossible due to the distances involved. AI 

could be equally valuable here on Earth, especially for environments (such as the deep sea, 

high radiation areas, structurally compromised enclosed spaces, and so on) where human 

control would either be too slow, dangerous, or technologically infeasible.

Autonomic Computing 

Autonomic computing is a concept that has been 

developed over the past 10 years as a way to manage 

increasingly complex computing systems. The core 

idea borrows from biology, specifically the human 

body’s autonomic nervous system. In an autonomic 

system, basic functions are self-managed in accordance 

with a pre-defined set of policies and rules established 

by system administrators and designers. The computer 

system then uses these policies and rules to manage 

and maintain itself, without direct action from 

administrators. Since this minimizes the amount of 

administrative oversight, autonomic computing can 

be an important strategy for managing extended and 

complicated systems, such as those associated with 

cloud computing.

The Tetrahedral Walker relies in 

NASA Goddard software to maneuver 

autonomously over harsh terrain. It 

was tested and proven at McMurdo 

Station in Antarctica. 

Photos by NASA
NASA Goddard has developed a number of technologies that mimic autonomic biological 

functions, such as apoptosis, heartbeat, and pulse. The first of these concepts, apoptosis, 

models the pre-programming that instructs cells to die once they have fulfilled their useful 

life and function. NASA Goddard has adapted this concept as a way to help manage large, 

complicated computer systems. Many of these systems include components designed to be 

used only once, or only for a limited period of time, or only in special situations. Allowing 

these entities to remain part of the system after they have served their purpose can 

consume resources. To avoid this, components can have an apoptosis feature 

built in that causes them to shut down and remove themselves from the 

system if a pre-defined expiration period passes without the component 

receiving a “reprieve” signal. This allows the system to allocate its resources 

only to those components that are still playing an active and useful role.

The two autonomic concepts of heartbeat and pulse are designed to help 

systems communicate with and manage their separate components. Of the two, 

heartbeat is the simpler concept. It involves a component periodically sending 

a “heartbeat” signal to the system. This heartbeat signal alerts the system that the component 

is online and functioning. If the system fails to receive the heartbeat signal, it assumes that the 

component is no longer operational, and adjusts. Heartbeat can be an important tool in systems 

and networks that consist of multiple objects and entities that are physically distant and disparate. 

Pulse is related to heartbeat, but with an added layer of complexity. As with the heartbeat, a pulse 

can let the system know that the component is still operational and communicating. However, the 

pulse also contains additional data about the overall “health” of the component, such as 

whether or not the unit is experiencing some problem. 

As computer systems and networks become more complicated and 

widely distributed, as in cloud computing applications, autonomic 

computing concepts will likely play an increasingly larger role in their 

management. NASA Goddard autonomic computing technologies may 

represent opportunities for the development of commercial tools that 

could bring significant value to the computer system management and 

administration community.

Fight or Flight

The Sympathetic division

mobilizes body systems 

during activity

Rest and Digest

The Parasympathetic 

division conserves energy 

and promotes housekeeping 

functions during rest

Inspiration from the 

human/mammalian autonomic 

nervous system.

Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office Accomplishments 2011 • PAGE 17
Collaboration and partnering are absolutely vital 

to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s ongoing 

success. The NASA Goddard Innovative Partnerships 

Program Office (IPPO) manages the licensing and 

partnering of Goddard’s intellectual property (IP) 

portfolio. The IPPO works with industry, academia, and 

other government agencies to identify partnership 

opportunities and to construct partnership 

agreements to help advance new technology 

designs and products of mutual interest.

Partners can come in all sizes, regions, and community 

segments. To ensure that NASA Goddard has access to the broadest and 

deepest pool of collaboration candidates from which to choose, the IPPO 

takes advantage of all possible tools and techniques for reaching out 

to potential partners. This often involves dealing directly with interested 

parties, through venues such as the November 2011 Wavefront and 

Adaptive Optics Technology Briefing Workshop. The IPPO also works 

with a number of intermediaries whose missions are to promote business 

development within a certain industry, community, or region.

In this section we discuss several examples of partnerships the IPPO 

has in place with diverse intermediary organizations that are responsible 

for advancing technology development and application to support high tech economic 

development within their respective geographical regions. We describe the roles and 

objectives of the intermediaries, and how NASA Goddard leverages these to target 

collaborative opportunities. We also briefly review “NASA Inspired Works of Fiction,” an 

outreach project that pairs NASA Goddard scientists and engineers with science fiction 

writers. This will result in a new science fiction series that will include NASA-inspired 

content, with the ultimate goal of raising awareness of (and enhancing public interest in) 

science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). 

to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s ongoing 

success. The NASA Goddard Innovative Partnerships 

Program Office (IPPO) manages the licensing and 

partnering of Goddard’s intellectual property (IP) 

portfolio. The IPPO works with industry, academia, and 

other government agencies to identify partnership 

opportunities and to construct partnership 

agreements to help advance new technology 

Partners can come in all sizes, regions, and community 

segments. To ensure that NASA Goddard has access to the broadest and 

deepest pool of collaboration candidates from which to choose, the IPPO 

with a number of intermediaries whose missions are to promote business 

In this section we discuss several examples of partnerships the IPPO 

has in place with diverse intermediary organizations that are responsible 

for advancing technology development and application to support high tech economic 

development within their respective geographical regions. We describe the roles and 

objectives of the intermediaries, and how NASA Goddard leverages these to target 

collaborative opportunities. We also briefly review “NASA Inspired Works of Fiction,” an 

outreach project that pairs NASA Goddard scientists and engineers with science fiction 

writers. This will result in a new science fiction series that will include NASA-inspired 

content, with the ultimate goal of raising awareness of (and enhancing public interest in) 

partnering of Goddard’s intellectual property (IP) 

portfolio. The IPPO works with industry, academia, and 

In this section we discuss several examples of partnerships the IPPO 

has in place with diverse intermediary organizations that are responsible 

for advancing technology development and application to support high tech economic 

development within their respective geographical regions. We describe the roles and 

objectives of the intermediaries, and how NASA Goddard leverages these to target 

collaborative opportunities. We also briefly review “NASA Inspired Works of Fiction,” an 

outreach project that pairs NASA Goddard scientists and engineers with science fiction 

writers. This will result in a new science fiction series that will include NASA-inspired 

content, with the ultimate goal of raising awareness of (and enhancing public interest in) 

Intermediaries

Collaboration and partnering

to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s ongoing 

success. The NASA Goddard Innovative Partnerships 

Program Office (IPPO) manages the licensing and 

partnering of Goddard’s intellectual property (IP) 

portfolio. The IPPO works with industry, academia, and 

other government agencies to identify partnership 

opportunities and to construct partnership 

agreements to help advance new technology 

Partners can come in all sizes, regions, and community 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

in this issue:

|

|

|

|

 7

13

14

18

Space Act Agreements

Tor-Forge Books and NASA Sci-Fi

Patenting Perspectives

Partnership Profiles

From the Chief

Partnership Intermediaries

Partnering with Goddard

Partnering: A Case Study

 2

 3

 4

 6

|

|

|

|

Volume 9, Number 4 | Fall 2011

Cover Art by Trina Cox
NASA Goddard Space

Flight Center Partners with

Intermediaries

During the past year, NASA Goddard collaborated with a number of 

partners in the ongoing effort to expand our expertise and technology 

base. The IPPO entered into these partnerships with three primary goals 

in mind: to leverage NASA Goddard’s R&D, to accelerate R&D work, and 

to bring in new technologies. To help meet these goals, the IPPO looks 

for opportunities to collaborate with others (including NASA centers, 

other government agencies, academia, and private enterprise) to develop 

complementary and adjacent technology.

One of the methods the IPPO uses to find and engage the best potential 

partners is through the help of intermediary organizations. These intermediaries, 

who often represent a specific region or market segment, can be essential for 

matching the most appropriate partner for NASA Goddard. 

Commercialization 

Throughout 2011, the IPPO collaborated with their commercialization partner 

Foresight Science & Technology on a number of tech transfer initiatives. 

Examples of Foresight’s collaboration with the IPPO during 2011 included:

 • Industry outreach programs, in which Foresight helps NASA Goddard 

showcase and highlight technologies and areas of expertise to potential 

commercialization partners in targeted industry segments. An example 

of this was the Wavefront and Adaptive Optics Technology Briefing 

Workshop, held in November at the Greenbelt, Maryland campus.

 • Assessment reports that review the viability of potential markets 

and applications for specific NASA Goddard technologies. These 

assessments help identify the most promising potential markets for 

each available technology.

 • Periodic journals and other publications that highlight the latest 

developments and partnership opportunities at NASA Goddard. Each 

journal and article focuses upon a particular area of interest within the 

NASA Goddard IP portfolio.

Foresight (founded in 1980) is dedicated to “stimulating innovation and the 

uptake of new technologies in the United States and around the world.” 

Customers include over 145 companies (ranging from the Fortune 100 to 

start-ups), over 80 universities and foundations, and over 40 government 

agencies and laboratories. 

Manufacturing Innovation

There are numerous NASA Goddard technologies that offer significant 

potential to manufacturers. Two obvious examples are control software and 

robotics. Industrial robots are typically used in manufacturing processes, 

such as automobile factories. Common tasks for these devices include 

welding, cutting, lifting, sorting, and bending. To help ensure that potential 

partners in the manufacturing sector are matched to the appropriate NASA 

Goddard technologies, the IPPO frequently collaborates with institutions and 

organizations whose mission is to help support and develop manufacturing 

and technology on a national or regional level. One example of such an 

organization is the Industrial Technology Assistance Corporation (ITAC), 

based in New York City. 

A primary goal of the NASA Goddard/ITAC partnership is to match 

ITAC client companies with appropriate NASA Goddard technologies. This 

involves informing ITAC companies about technologies that may be of 

interest to their businesses. These opportunities cut across a wide spectrum 

of markets and applications. As part of this process, ITAC’s Technology 

Program Director, Franklin Madison, Jr., recommends that anyone interested 

in licensing a NASA Goddard technology should come prepared by 

reviewing the technologies listed on the IPPO web site (see http://ipp.gsfc.

nasa.gov/). He also suggests initiating an ongoing dialog with the IPPO, for 

further information and answers concerning technologies of interest.

New Kinds of Start Up Companies

Traditionally, start-up companies have not always received upfront 

prominence and stature within industry that might otherwise be merited. To 

minimize this issue, NASA Goddard often collaborates with organizations 

and agencies dedicated to supporting business development and opportunities 

within this sector. One example of this is NASA Goddard’s relationship 

—Graphic art by Trina Cox

Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office Accomplishments 2011 • PAGE 19
with the Juxtopia® Urban Innovation and Cooperative Entrepreneurship (JUICE) 

Network. The JUICE Network helps promote space entrepreneurship opportunities 

for under-represented and disadvantaged communities. Specifically, their goal is to 

help minority-owned companies understand how they can benefit from collaborating 

with NASA Goddard. This includes (but is not limited to) access to NASA Goddard 

technology transfer and equipment/facility resources.

Dr. Jayfus Doswell is founder and board chairperson of Juxtopia®. As such, his 

company serves as an example of collaboration with NASA Goddard. According to 

Dr. Doswell, this collaboration not only created a potential new market for Juxtopia®; 

it also gave the company exposure and access to “a lot of unique/advanced high tech 

resources. For example, NASA Goddard has many advanced optical technologies 

that we’re looking at to help improve some of the optical subsystems that comprise 

our technology. These NASA Goddard inventions may allow us to do things we 

couldn’t do with off-the-shelf components sold in stores. This gives us an excellent 

opportunity to really improve the performance of our products.”

Dr. Doswell also speaks highly of his experiences collaborating with the IPPO, 

particularly with the Office’s attentiveness to open and prompt communication. 

“Basically, if we have any question about any invention that interests us, we work 

through our contact person in the IPPO to get the answer. This has resulted in timely 

dialogue for addressing technical inquiries that have lead to licensing meetings with the 

IPPO team and inventors.”

Focus on Small Business Partners

Small businesses often make excellent commercialization targets for NASA Goddard 

technologies, particularly those ideally suited for specialized niche markets and 

applications. To reach small companies, the IPPO collaborates with organizations 

dedicated to the promotion and development of small technology businesses in a 

particular state or region. An example is the Maryland Technology Development 

Corporation (TEDCO). TEDCO is an economic development arm of Maryland, 

focused on technology-based economic development. TEDCO, which has a Space Act 

Agreement with NASA Goddard, looks for small businesses interested in partnering 

with the Center. This can involve a patent licensing deal, or other forms of collaboration. 

TEDCO can also provide third-party financing to help support these partnerships 

through funding programs.

According to Ronald Kaese, Director of Federal Programs for TEDCO, “Small 

businesses approach TEDCO routinely to seek help in advancing their technology 

business. They seek access to facilities for testing a technology. Or maybe they need 

technology. At that point, we discuss whether there may be a mutually beneficial 

relationship with NASA Goddard.” 

TEDCO has also conducted and promoted several technology showcases. These 

events have helped ensure that potential collaborators with NASA Goddard attend the 

showcases. Outcomes have been license agreements and several partnering discussions 

and agreements. 

Mr. Kaese cites NASA Goddard’s unique facilities, technologies, and data sets as 

especially valuable to small businesses. “Small businesses need to prove concepts, 

advancing their technologies to mature levels, or testing. This becomes a big deal for 

small businesses looking to attract investors. NASA Goddard can support the technical 

merit for this requirement if the small business line of business aligns with NASA 

Goddard assets they can license or leverage. Potential investors and small businesses can 

quickly determine if in the real world the small business new idea/product scales up.” 

TEDCO complements ongoing discussions among laboratories, NASA Goddard, and other 

government agencies to help promote technology and facility needs across laboratories, 

focusing on marketing of similar technologies from the laboratories to small businesses. They 

also host and sponsor technology transfer partnership forums to discuss business processes 

and technology exchange opportunities among the laboratories and small businesses.

Other forms of Collaboration

Academia. In addition to intermediaries, the IPPO also partners with educational 

institutions. For example, NASA Goddard is collaborating with the University of 

Baltimore’s Merrick School of Business to analyze and consider the commercial potential 

for a variety of NASA Goddard technologies. In this program, MBA candidates are 

presented with a number of NASA Goddard technologies. The students then devise 

potential applications and markets for these technologies. NASA Goddard scientists 

and engineers will work directly with University of Baltimore faculty and MBA students 

to provide them with detailed information about their inventions. The goal is to equip 

the students with sufficient technical background about the invention and its capabilities 
to define potential new uses for it. In return, NASA Goddard will meet with faculty and 

students to develop a better understanding of potential new applications of the NASA 

Goddard technologies that were part of the course material. 

Book Publishing. In 2012, NASA also 

announced a partnership with Tor-Forge 

Books, a well-known publisher of science 

fiction. This outreach project, called 

“NASA Inspired Works of Fiction,” 

will pair NASA Goddard scientists and 

engineers with Tor-Forge writers to 

help raise awareness of (and enhance 

public interest in) science, technology, 

engineering and mathematics (STEM). 

The end result will be the creation of a 

new science fiction series that will include 

NASA-inspired content. The first of these works 

should be published in late 2013. As part of this program, NASA Goddard hosted a 

two-day workshop on November 30th through December 1st, 2011 in which Tor-Forge 

authors toured the Center and spent time talking with the scientific and technical staff to 

glean more about their research. The workshop was a unique but focused way of having 

comprehensive conversations about the future of science and technology research. 

Partnering with NASA 

Goddard Space Flight Center

Companies, organizations, and other entities interested in collaborating with NASA 

Goddard have a variety of legal instruments available. These instruments, which often 

include obtaining the rights to commercialize IP developed by NASA Goddard, are 

designed for specific partnering situations, and include Patent/Copyright Licenses, 

Space Act Agreements, Cooperative Agreement Grants, and Cooperative Research and 

Development Agreements (CRADA). Each is intended for a specific purpose and type 

of partnership.

Space Act Agreements

Among the more commonly used ways to partner with NASA is the Space Act Agreement, 

designed for collaborations with the public and private sectors. This is a flexible instrument 

that traces its origin back to the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958. A Space Act 

Agreement defines a set of legally enforceable promises between NASA and its partner. 

This generally involves a commitment of NASA resources, such as funding, services, 

equipment, expertise, information, or facilities, to fulfill the objectives of the agreement. A 

Space Act Agreement is required whenever a partnership entails a commitment of NASA 

resources for mutual activities beyond appropriated assignments 

Space Act Agreements are often categorized in accordance with the type of activity with 

which NASA is partnering. Other categories include Reimbursable (which provide for 

payment of NASA`s costs by the partnering party), Non-reimbursable (which requires 

both NASA and its partner to each to bear the cost of the activity), and Funded (in which 

NASA provides funding to its partner). Space act agreements are not completed, although 

NASA can pre-announce intentions to enter into a partnership and welcomes ideas.

Patent/Copyright Licenses

Another frequently used legal instrument for partnering with NASA Goddard is the 

Patent/Copyright License. A license transfers specific rights of NASA IP for specific 

commercial use, and is generally royalty-based. Licenses are granted under the authority 

of 35 USC §§207-209; NASA follows the regulations set forth in 37 CFR §404.

All NASA licenses are individually negotiated with the prospective licensee, and each 

license contains terms concerning technology transfer (practical application), license 

duration, royalties, and periodic reporting. Licenses can be exclusive, partially exclusive, 

or nonexclusive.

The license application process is straightforward. The first step is to complete the 

License Application, which can be found at http://ipp.gsfc.nasa.gov/partnering.shtm. 

After NASA receives and reviews the Term Sheet, a marketing plan must be submitted. 

This requires a detailed description of your plans for the invention. Patents for licensing 

and software available for copyright are announced in Fed Biz Op and other professional 

trade publications. This is done to broadcast in the widest way possible the opportunity 

to license NASA patents. 

Book Publishing.

announced a partnership with Tor-Forge 

Books, a well-known publisher of science 

fiction. This outreach project, called 

“NASA Inspired Works of Fiction,” 

will pair NASA Goddard scientists and 

engineers with Tor-Forge writers to 

help raise awareness of (and enhance 

public interest in) science, technology, 

NASA-inspired content. The first of these works 

Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office Accomplishments 2011 • PAGE 21
Other Types of Legal Instruments for Partnering

In addition to Space Act Agreements and Patent/Copyright Licenses, the following 

legal instruments are also available for partnering with NASA:

 • Cooperative Agreement Grant is for funding activities that serve a public 

purpose. These activities may or may not include direct NASA involvement. 

These agreements are usually competed, and NASA funding is available.

 • Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) is 

designed for leveraging research efforts that allow jointly owned IP. This type 

of agreement is used rarely by NASA. Specific research and development 

objectives and goals are required. A CRADA is not competed, and no NASA 

funding is available.

Examples of Partnering Mechanisms

•

Purpose

Competition

Required?

Notable

Requirements

NASA Funding 

to the Non-NASA 

Party?

Authority

Cooperative 

Agreement Grant

NASA funding 

provided to faciliate activities that 

accomplish a 

public purpose

Generally, Yes

• Public Purpose

• NASA may be 

involved

Yes

Space Act; 31 USC 

6304; 31 USC 6305

Space Act 

Agreement

Collaborations 

with the public 

and private 

sector

In some 

circumstances

• Subject to 

statutory and 

NASA requirements

Rarely

Space Act; 

NPD 1050.1I

Patent/Copyright 

License

Transfer specific 

rights associated 

with NASA-owned 

Intellectual 

Property

No

• Intellectual Propety

• Royalty-based

• Commercialization

No

35 USC 207

Software Usage 

Agreement

Access to 

NASA developed 

software

No

• Export Control 

Compliance

• Depends on 

type of release

No

NPD 2210.1A

CRADA

Used for cooperative 

research and 

development whereby 

it can be established 

upfront

No

• Federal Lab

• R&D

No

15 USC 3710a
NASA Goddard SBIR/STTR Awards

 2011 SBIR Phase I 

Emergent Space Technologies, Inc.

Greenbelt, MD

TASS-Enhanced Near Earth Navigation System

Keystone Aerospace

Hot Springs, AR

Advanced Exoplanet Star Tracker for 

Orbit Self Determination

 

ASTER Labs, Inc.

Saint Paul, MN

Advanced Spacecraft Navigation and 

Timing Using Celestial Gamma-Ray 

Sources

 

Decisive Analytics Corporation

Huntsville, AL

Enhanced Path Planning, Guidance, 

and Estimation Algorithms for NASA’s 

GMAT

Princeton Lightwave, Inc.

Cranbury Township, NJ

Low-Noise Analog APDs with Impact 

Ionization Engineering and Negative 

Feedback

Princeton Lightwave, Inc.

Cranbury Township, NJ

Efficient in-band diode-pumped 

Q-switched solid state laser for methane detection 

Radiation Monitoring Devices, Inc.

Watertown, MA

Modified High Gain APDs for Multibeam Ladar Instrumentation

Nu Waves Ltd.

Middletown, OH 

High Efficiency Switching Power 

amplifier for Earth Radar Observation 

System (HESPEROS)

QmagiQ

Nashua, NH 

High Temperature and High QE 

Broadband Longwave Infrared SLS 

FPA for LANDSAT 

 

AGILTRON Corporation

Woburn, MA 

High Performance Spatial Filter Array 

Based on Signal Mode Fiber Bundle

 

UNITED SILICON CARBIDE, INC.

Monmouth Junction, NJ 

The First Monolithic Silicon Carbide 

Active Pixel Sensor Array for Solar 

Blind UV Detection

Prime Photonics, LC

Blacksburg, VA 

Bulk metallic glass for low noise 

fluxgate

Predictive Science Incorporated

San Diego, CA

Anticipating the Geoeffectiveness 

of Coronal Mass Ejections

HYPRES, Inc.

Elmsford, NY 

Low Heat-Leak YBCO Leads for 

Satellite-Borne ADR Magnets

Biospherical Instruments, Inc.

San Diego, CA

HybridSpectral Radiometer Systems 

to Support Ocean Color Cal/Val

 

Southwest Sciences, Inc.

Santa Fe, NM 

Robust optical carbon dioxide isotope 

analyzer 

Translume, Inc.

Ann Arbor, MI 

Quantitative Nutrient Analyzer for 

Autonomous Ocean Deployment

HJ Science & Technology, Inc.

Santa Clara, CA

Novel High Pressure Pump-on-a-Chip 

Technology

 

AOSense, Inc.

Sunnyvale, CA 

Accelerometer for Space 

Applications Based on Light-Pulse 

Atom Interferometry

Dallas Optical Systems, Inc.

Rockwall, TX

Diamond Turned Super Alloy 

Mandrel for Slump Forming X-Ray 

Observatory (IXO) Mirrors

Flexure Engineering

Greenbelt MD

Cryogenic and Vacuum Compatible 

Metrology Systems

American Semiconductor, Inc.

Boise, ID 

A 45 nm Low Cost, Radiation 

Hardened, Platform Based 

Structured ASIC 

CrossTrac Engineering, inc.

Sunnyvale, CA 

Millisecond X-ray Star Tracker

 

Maryland Aerospace, Inc

Crofton, MD

Integrated CubeSat ADACS with 

Reaction Wheels and Star Tracker

 

Luminit, LLC

Torrance, CA

Carbon Nanotube-based 

Supercapacitor 

 

EM Photonics

Newark, DE

OpenCL-Based Linear Algebra 

Libraries for High-Performance 

Computing

Open Research, Inc.

Gaithersburg, MD 

Towards Rapid Application 

Provisioning in the Cloud 

 

Signal Processing, Inc.

Rockville, MD

High Performance and Accurate 

Change Detection System for 

HyspIRI Missions

 

InterCAX, LLC

Atlanta, GA

SLIM for Agile Mission Lifecycle 

Management

 

 2011 STTR Phase I 

Intelligent Fiber Optic Systems 

Corporation

Santa Clara, CA 

Miniaurizable, High Performance, FiberOptic Gyroscopes for Small Satellites

Applied NanoFemto 

Technologies, LLC

Lowell, MA 

Photonic antenna coupled middlewave infrared photodetector and focal 

plane array with low noise and high 

quantum efficiency 

EPIR Technologies, Inc.

Bolingbrook, IL

Infrared Microspectrometer based on 

MEOMS Lamellar Grating Interferometer

Arkyd Astronautics, Inc.

Bellevue, WA

Multi-functional Optical Subsystem 

Enabling Laser Communication on 

Small Satellites 

 2010 SBIR Phase II

Redfern Integrated Optics, Inc.

Santa Clara, CA

Development of a Single-Frequency 

Narrow Linewidth 1.5mm Semiconductor Laser Suitable for Spaceflight 

Operation

CoolCAD Electronics

College Park, MD

Novel Silicon Carbide Deep Ultraviolet 

Detectors: Device Modeling, Characterization, Design and Prototyping

Creare, Inc.

Hanover, NH 

An Ultra Low Power Cryo-Refrigerator 

for Space

Q-Peak, Inc.

Bedford, MA

A LIBS/Raman System for Planetary 

Surface Measurement

Masstech, Inc.

Columbia, MD

Formaldehyde Profiler Using Laser 

Induced Fluorescence Technique

Tahoe RF Semiconductor Inc.,

Auburn, CA 

Miniaturized Radiation Hardened BeamSteerable GPS Receiver Front End

Voxtel, Inc.

Beaverton, OR 

Large-Area, UV-Optimized, Back-Illuminated Silicon Photomultiplier Arrays

Iris AO, Inc.

Berkeley, CA 

Picometer-Resolution MEMS Segmented DM

Applied Material Systems 

Engineering, Inc.(AMSENG)

Schaumburg, IL 

The Conductive Thermal Control Material Systems for Space Applications

Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office Accomplishments 2011 • PAGE 23
7,811,406 Advanced Adhesive Bond Shape Tailoring for 

Large Composite Primary Structures Subjected 

to Cryogenic and Ambient Loading Environments

7,817,087 Relative Spacecraft Navigation using 

Reflected GPS Signals

7,830,527 Method And Apparatus For Second Harmonic 

Generation And Other Frequency Convertion 

With Multiple Frequency Channels

7,830,224 Compact Low-loss Planar Magic-T With 

Broadband Phase And Amplitude Responses

7,886,273 Generation And Verification Of Policies 

For Autonomic Systems

7,899,760 Autonomic Quiescence

7,904,396 An Autonomic Smoke Detector

7,907,333 A Pulsed, 1 Micron, Single Frequency, DiodeSeeded Ytterbium-doped Fiber Amplifier 

With Variable Output Parameters, P

7,924,415 Light Direction Sensor

7,922,920 Low Conductance Silicon Micro-leak for 

Mass Spectrometer Inlet

7,921,731 A two-axis direct fluid shear stress sensor 

suited for aerodynamic applications

7,924,126 Small, High Field Superconducting Magnets

7,925,600 SWARM AUTONOMIC AGENTS WITH 

SELF-DESTRUCT CAPABILITY

7,935,297 Template For Deposition Of Micron And 

Sub-micron Pointed Structures

7,968,812 Spring Joint Package with Overstrain 

Sensor (“OS Sensor Joint”)

7,970,025 Tunable Frequency-stabilized Laser via 

Offset Sideband Locking

7,978,312 An Active, Solid-state, 3-Dimensional Range Imaging System

7,979,848 A Method Of Deriving Process Based Specifications 

From Scenarios Via Pattern Matching

7,982,861 Pseudo-Noise Code Modulation using 

Return to Zero pulses for Ranging, Altimetry and 

Communications

7,992,134 Modeling, Specifying And Deploying Policies In Autonomous And Autonomic Systems 

Using An AOSE Methodology

7,992,760 Hardware And Technique For Dead End Welding Of 

All Types Of Tubing

7,999,427 Directed Flux Motor Utilizing Concentric Magnets 

and Interwoven Flux Channels

Patent 

Number

Technology 

Title

Patent 

Number

Technology 

Title

For NASA, New Technology Reports (NTRs) are the critical first step towards detailing and protecting technology developments and innovations. For the third year in a row, the 

NASA Goddard IPP Office received over 250 NTRs. Each year the IPPO reviews all of the NTRs received and selects a number of them to be patented. NASA Goddard received 

22 patents, that were filed in previous years, which are listed below.

Patents Issued
Business Networking and Outreach

Annual IRAD Poster Session

(December 2, 2011, Greenbelt, MD)

The NASA Goddard Space 

Flight Center’s IPPO exhibited 

at the Annual NASA IRAD 

Poster Session. At this event the 

IPPO showcased opportunities t o 

to connect with SBIR awardees. 

The IPPO aimed to reach out to 

attendees regarding how IPPO 

manages partnerships that begin 

with new technology reporting 

and protecting intelectual 

properties. The IPPO staff met 

with scientists and engineers 

exhibiting at the poster session, learned of new technologies developed and identified 

areas where IPPO can potentially help facilitate new partnerships.

Project Management (PM) Challenge

(February 9-10, 2011, Long Beach, CA)

Project Management Challenge is an annual NASA training event. The theme for this 

year’s PM Challenge was “Explore and Inspire” to acknowledge not only the central 

role of space exploration to the Agency’s mission, but also how the exploration of 

new ideas and lessons learned in project management increase the chances of mission 

success. The NASA Goddard IPPO team exhibited and participated in outreach 

efforts to program and project management attendees to identify technology transfer 

and sponsored research opportunities.

NASA OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff School Awards

(May 23-25, 2011, Orlando, FL)

Working with NASA Kennedy Space Center, NASA Goddard IPPO staff 

members were on hand at Union Park Elementary School in Orlando, Florida, to 

personally deliver first place awards to four 5th grade students. Isaliz Gonzalez, 

Grace Romano, Julianna Sanchez, and Samantha Herrod won the NASA 

OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff Award Contest for the 3rd - 5th grade category. The 

NASA OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff Award Contest is a national video contest 

sponsored by NASA and toymaker Hasbro. The goal of the contest is to enhance 

awareness and understanding of how NASA technology ‘transforms’ into things 

used daily here on earth. The fifth-graders wrote and produced a video about 

fabrics created through NASA that protects skin from ultraviolet rays. Each 

student received a NASA OPTIMUS PRIME trophy, a winner’s certificate signed 

by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, and passes to tour the Kennedy Space 

Center Visitors Complex and final space shuttle launch. 

Society for the Advancement of Material and 

Process Engineering (SAMPE)

(May 23-26, 2011, Long Beach, CA)

The IPPO attended the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process 

Engineering (SAMPE) 2011. This premier conference is held by the only technical 

society that encompasses all fields of endeavor in materials and processes. SAMPE 

is an international professional member society that provides information on new 

materials and processing technologies through commercial exposition, technical 

forums, and journal publications or books, in which professionals can exchange ideas 

and views. SAMPE provides a unique and valuable forum for scientists, engineers, 

designers and academicians and served as a channel for identifying technology 

transfer opportunities.

IPPO staff members Ted Mecum, Enidia Santiago-Arce and 

Dr. Bedford Boylston demonstrate the MMO game “Moon 

Base Alpha” to Annual IRAD Poster Session attendees.

Photo by NASA

Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office Accomplishments 2011 • PAGE 25
Business Networking and Outreach (continued)

What’s Your Favorite Space?

(August 17th, 2011, New York, NY)

The IPPO played a central role in the success 

of the “What’s Your Favorite Space?” exhibit 

at the Eventi hotel plaza in New York on 

August 17th, 2011. As part of a large event 

celebrating NASA, the IPPO provided a 

walking gallery of Hubble images, examples 

of NASA spinoffs, demonstrations of the 

3-D Immersive NASA Exploration Game 

Moonbase Alpha and outreach to the public 

about technology transfer initiatives.

2011 SPIE Optics and 

Photonics Conference

(August 21 -25, 2011, 

San Francisco, CA)

IPPO staff members Enidia 

Santiago-Arce and Brent Newhall 

attended the 2011 SPIE Optics 

+ Photonics Conference held at 

the San Diego Convention Center 

from August 21 - 25, 2011. The 

Conference is the largest interdisciplinary technical conference 

in North America. NASA Goddard’s IPPO hosted a booth detailing the science and 

technology behind the James Webb Space Telescope. In addition they discussed 

opportunities for partnership relative to NASA Goddard’s “Can You See It Now?” 

Campaign. This effort is focused on transitioning a deep portfolio of wavefront sensing 

and adaptive optics technologies, procedures, and lab equipment to private industry.

Emerging Space and Commercial Suborbital 

Vehicles Workshop

(September 7, 2011, Washington, DC)

The NASA Goddard IPPO and Earth Science Division hosted a Commercial Suborbital 

Vehicles Workshop at NASA Goddard on September 7, 2011. The purpose of the workshop 

was to provide information for Earth and Space scientists about vehicles’ capabilities and 

examined and discussed science topics that might be conducted from these platforms. 

The key opportunities enabled by the unique capabilities of the commercial suborbital 

vehicles are that they would provide frequent and low-cost access to the mesosphere, 

lower thermosphere (MLT) region of the atmosphere (50-140km altitude). Atmospheric 

observations from commercial suborbital vehicles would provide a new window on the 

MLT. This workshop allowed for an open discussion of platform capabilities versus 

measurement needs, allowing for any potential design requests to be easily accommodated.

Next Steps in Managing Innovation Workshop

(September 29th, 2011, Pittsburgh, PA)

The Annual Mid-Atlantic Next Steps in Managing Innovation Workshop was hosted by the 

IPPO on September 29, 2011 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This outreach event gave SBIR/

STTR companies the opportunity to become acquainted with the technology needs of 

NASA Goddard as well as network with NASA technologists, SBIR Phase III companies, 

prime contractors, and other organizations that have unique methodologies for advancing 

technology. This event was a great opportunity to highlights SBIR data property rights, use 

of NASA Intellectual Property and working with NASA to promote mutual successes.

Innovative Partnerships Program Office (IPPO) Technology 

Manager Enidia Santiago-Arce, discusses wavefront 

sensing technologies with an SPIE conference attendee.

Innovative Partnerships Program Office (IPPO) 

staff member Melissa Jackson explains how 

NASA technologies are used in our homes and 

in our everyday lives to attendees.

Photo by NASA

Photo by NASA
2011 FLC Mid-Atlantic 

Region Meeting

(October 4-6, 2011, Cambridge, Maryland)

The 2011 Federal Labs Consortium 

(FLC) Mid-AtlanticRegion Meeting 

was held this year in Cambridge, 

Maryland. Members of the IPPO were 

presented with the Science, Technology, 

Engineering and Math (STEM) Award, in 

recognition of the success of the NASA 

OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff Award 

Video Contest. The contest is designed 

to emphasize the similarities between the 

popular OPTIMUS PRIME character 

from Hasbro’s TRANSFORMERS 

brand and NASA Spinoff technologies 

now being used back on Earth.

49th Annual R&D 100 

Awards Ceremony

(October 13, 2011, Orlando, FL)

The IPPO participated in the 

49th Annual R&D 100 Awards 

Ceremony in Orlando, FL, 

on October 13, 2011. NASA 

Goddard received the R&D 

100 award in conjunction 

with our partners at Bartron 

Medical Imaging, a biotechnology medical device manufacturer with 

Software Development and Research & Design facilities in Maryland, and 

Manufacturing facilities in New Haven, CT. Bartron’s flagship product, MEDSEG(tm), an FDA cleared medical device incorporates NASA Goddard’s 

Hierarchical Segmentation algorithms developed by NASA Earth Scientists 

Dr. James Tilton.

19th Annual 

New Technology 

Reporting Program

(November 8, 2011, 

Newton White Mansion, 

Mitchellville, MD)

The IPPO hosted NASA 

Goddard’s 19th Annual 

New Technology Reporting 

Program which recognizes 

innovators who actively 

support and participate 

in NASA Goddard’s new 

technology reporting and 

technology transfer efforts. 

NASA Goddard Center 

Management presented patent awards to innovators and the 2011 James Kerley 

Award to Dan Smith in the software engineering division. The Kerley Award is 

presented to the individual who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in 

innovative solutions and participating in technology transfer activities in the past 

year. This annual event acknowledges the importance in technology transfer and 

the benefits of partnering.

Deputy Center Director for Science and Technology, Christyl 

Johnson, and Software Engineering Division Chief, John 

Donohue, present Dan Smith (Code 580) with the 2011 James 

Kerley Award, in recognition of his outstanding contributions and 

support of NASA Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program. 

Fitz Walker, CEO of Bartron Medical Imaging Inc and NASA 

Goddard’s James Tilton pose with the R&D 100 award they 

received for their collaboration on medical imaging software.

The annual award recognizes the efforts of an

FLC laboratory team that has demonstrated 

outstanding work in support of science, 

technology, engineering, and mathematics 

(STEM) education during the past year. Photo by NASA

Photo by NASA

Photo by NASA

Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office Accomplishments 2011 • PAGE 27