National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Goddard Space Flight CenterGoddard Space Flight Center
Connecting internal inventors with external partners.
A Low Cost Small Satellite and Distributed Mission Test Platform
The Innovative Technology Partnerships Office (ITPO) at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, invites the educators, students and the general public to celebrate Pi Day and discover Pi-Sat. Current technology trends indicate a shift in satellite architectures from large, single-satellite missions to small, distributed spacecraft missions. At the center of this shift is the SmallSat/CubeSat architecture.
RELEASE 15-014 (Goddard)
NASA Goddard Signs Exclusive Patent License With Millennium Space Systems
The Innovative Technology Partnerships Office (ITPO) at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, announced the signing of an exclusive production license with Millennium Space Systems of El Segundo, California.
This exclusive license allows Millennium Space Systems to produce and market NASA Goddard’s patented Demisable Integrated Reaction Wheel Assembly (DIRWA) for satellite platforms that can range in mass from a few hundred pounds to several thousand pounds. Made from aluminum, which has a low melting point, the demisable momentum wheels do not require controlled re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, thus reducing the costs for satellite end of life mitigation scenarios.
For more information on the DIRWA, please contact the NASA Goddard Innovative Technology Partnerships Office at 301-286-5810 or email techtransfer@gsfc.nasa.gov
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The Innovative Technology Partnerships Office (ITPO) at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, has announced that public voting for the fourth NASA Goddard OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff Challenge runs through March 22, 2015.
The purpose of the contest is to raise awareness of NASA Goddard’s Technology Transfer Program and to inspire interest in all NASA Goddard missions, programs and projects. Students in grades 3 through 12 are provided a unique experience using 21st century engineering design technology and purposeful interactions with tech transfer, science, and engineering professionals to create unique technology spinoff applications derived from actual NASA Goddard innovations and the James Webb Space Telescope.
Through participation in the challenge, students:
A non-exclusive patent license was signed with Space Vector Corporation for use of NASA GSFC’s Radiation Hardened Fast Acquisition Weak Signal Tracking System and Method, and The Goddard Enhanced Onboard Navigation System (GEONS)” technologies.
Case Number: GSC‐ 14793‐1
Patent Number: 7,548,199
Patent Exp. Date: 9/20/2025
DESCRIPTION
This invention is a global positioning system receiver for use in low earth orbit. The receiver has an antenna receiving global positioning system (GPS) signals. An analog radio frequency device converts the signals from an analog to a digital format. GPS signal acquisition components connected to the device calculates a maximum vector on a data bit correlation grid. A microprocessor compares the vector with a preset correlation threshold to allow the signal to be fully acquired and tracked.
ChiTAG attendees build with littleBits — NASA Goddard Space Flight Center scientists from NASA’s Aura Mission have entered into a Space Act Agreement with littleBits Electronics, Inc., New York, N.Y., to collaborate with the Aura Mission on activities to stimulate student interest in science and technology. Image Credit: NASA/Goddard
The Innovative Technology Partnerships Office (ITPO) attended the Chicago Toy & Game Fair (ChiTAG) on November 22-23, 2014 at the Navy Pier in Chicago, IL. ITPO’s Chief, Nona Cheeks, was the keynote speaker at the International Toy & Game Innovation Conference on November 21st. ITPO met with several toy developers and company executives regarding partnerships with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Highlighted technologies included Gear Bearings and Aeropods. Approximately 10,000 people attended ChiTAG. ITPO provided information about partnering with NASA and the Goddard OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff Challenge. In addition, educational toy kits developed as a result of a partnership between Goddard and littleBits Electronics were highlighted.
Author Steven Johnson, How We Got to Now, Innovative Initiatives workshop, Innovative Technology Partnerships Office (IPTO); Credit: NASA/Goddard/Bill Hrybyk
To facilitate a conversation about managing innovations (both technology and business management practices), Goddard management, scientists, engineers, and innovators were invited to participate in the Innovative Technology Partnerships Office’s (ITPO) Innovative Initiatives Workshop Fall 2014 on November 13, 2014. Steven Johnson, author of How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World and host of the PBS series How We Got to Now with Steven Johnson, spoke with over 100 attendees about exploring connections between often unrelated disciplines and how these subjects are often interdependent—and essential to the collective interest at Goddard. Mr. Johnson also co-facilitated a Roundtable Meeting with Center management.
Congratulations and thank you to all Goddard innovators for submitting New Technology Reports (NTRs). The Innovative Technology Partnerships Office (ITPO) is pleased to announce that the Center exceeded its FY2014 goal with over 300 NTRs submitted!
It’s not too early to start submitting your New Technology Reports (NTR) for FY2015 in order to showcase your innovative work and protect the Center’s interest. Completed NTRs are submitted to the ITPO for processing in conjunction with GSFC’s Office of Patent Counsel (OPC).
For questions and assistance completing a NASA Form 1679, please contact ITPO at techtransfer@nasa.gov or 301-286-5810.
The NASA Goddard TRANSFORMERS OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff Challenge, hosted by the Innovative Technology Partnerships Office (ITPO) at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, is launching its 2014-2015 academic year competition. The purpose of the challenge is to raise awareness of NASA’s Technology Transfer Program and to inspire interest in all NASA missions, programs and projects.
This year the scope of the contest is being expanded to include two challenges. The first challenge is very similar to previous years’ contests. Students in grades 3 through 12 are asked to submit a video describing their favorite NASA Goddard spinoff. In a new twist, participants in this year’s contest must also use the engineering design process to develop and propose a new spinoff application of their own for the technology. Spinoffs are technologies originally created for space and modified into everyday products used on Earth. Examples include memory foam, invisible braces and scratch-resistant lenses for eyeglasses.
OPTIMUS PRIME winners visited NASA Goddard. Peter Cullen, the voice of the official OPTIMUS PRIME character, came to the center to work with each group of students on Thursday, April 24, 2014. Image Credit: NASA/Goddard
As students prepare to return to school for the 2014-2015 academic year, the Innovative Technology Partnerships Office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland is pleased to announce educational scholarships for top-placing students in NASA’s most recent OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff Video Contest. The scholarships for the first, second and third place winners in each age category (elementary, middle school and high school) are being sponsored by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Foundation and may be used to support current and future educational pursuits.
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ITPO team member Lara Zitterkopf speaks with Thomas Jefferson High School students
On May 28, the Innovative Technology Partnerships Office (ITPO) participated in Thomas Jefferson High School’s Symposium to Advance Research (tjSTAR) in Alexandria, VA. Senior Technology Manager Darryl Mitchell presented to a group of students about Technology Transfer and the upcoming launch of the Goddard OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff Challenge. The ITPO’s interactive booth featured a thermographic camera where students took part in various demonstrations. 800+ students stopped by the booth to learn more about Tech Transfer & spinoffs. Approximately 150 students signed up for the Goddard OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff Challenge.