2015 National Small Business Week

2015 National Small Business Week was a great success! I wanted to highlight a significant experience I had while at Ames Research Center (ARC) for our Small Business Improvement Plan (SBIP) Meeting. I had the opportunity to meet the staff and management of a SBIR Phase II company called Made In Space. Made In Space has a partnership with NASA and is located at ARC. What makes this small business so unique is that they designed and engineered the first ever 3-D printer that operates in zero gravity in space. In 2014, Space X launched the printer out of Cape Canaveral, Florida en route to the International Space Station (ISS). They started with sending specific code to the ISS where they printed the first ever manufactured in space object. This means that they are able to print a real tangible object to use to their benefit at the ISS. Yes, I know what you are thinking, literally out of this world manufacturing!

Talking tech with senior staff at Made In Space

Also during Small Business Week the NASA Administrator had the privilege to meet a Small Business in DC called Compass Coffee. Compass Coffee is owned by Marines that use NASA technology when brewing their coffee. The technology used is called Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) controllers. When roasting the coffee beans, this technology measures time temperature profiles to ensure every cup of coffee tastes the same. Another technology used is near infrared abridged spectrometry (NIRS) which NASA uses to collect data for the Aqua satellite about Earth’s water cycle. Compass Coffee uses the same technology to assure that each cup has the same level of quinic acid. Why? Again, for the same great taste each time a cup is brewed. There is more space in your life than you think! 

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