NASA's startup funding is real, non-dilutive, and famously scattered across a dozen program pages that never link to each other. We pulled it into one place: SBIR/STTR, Tipping Point, NIAC, TechFlights, ACO, and InSPA — who they're for, what they pay, and how to actually apply. Whether you're a funded team, a stealth two-person shop, or an idea on a whiteboard, start here. Then, because no space hardware flies without being simulated first, we'll show you how engineering simulation de-risks the physics — and how to get an Ansys evaluation and live engineering help through a channel partner.
Specific, current NASA Startup & Space Technology Funding funding — what it is, how to apply, the stages, who gets accepted, and the events where it's decided. Everything links to the official source.
The technology these funders back usually has to be simulated before it's believed. We arrange Ansys evaluation licenses, live engineering support, and free learning — so you can build the MVP that wins.
You're looking for funding in this ecosystem — and you have (or will have) technology that needs to be simulated to prove it works.
The anchor non-dilutive program for small businesses. Phase I proves feasibility; Phase II builds and tests the prototype; Phase II-E and post-Phase-II vehicles push toward infusion and commercialization.
~$225K (Phase I) to ~$850K (Phase II) · Non-dilutive
Milestone-based, firm-fixed-price public-private partnerships for technologies that are close to a market 'tipping point' and need a demonstration to get over the line. Heavy focus on lunar, Mars, and commercial LEO capabilities.
~$1M–$20M+ per award · Matching
Funds visionary, early, potentially game-changing concepts (10+ years out) at TRL 1–3. Companies, not just universities, can and do win. Phase I studies feasibility; Phase II matures the concept; Phase III transitions it.
~$175K (I) / ~$600K (II) / ~$2M (III) · Non-dilutive
Every payload gets shaken hard on the way up. Predict the random-vibration and vibro-acoustic response of your structure, find the resonances that will crack a bracket or a solder joint, and size the design to the launch vehicle's spec before you ever book a shaker table.
Launch providers require a coupled-loads analysis and a first-mode above a threshold. Run modal and frequency-response analysis to prove your spacecraft's stiffness, avoid coupling with the launch vehicle, and clear the launch-readiness gate.
In vacuum there's no convection — only radiation and conduction. Model hot and cold orbital cases, sunlit-to-eclipse swings, and thermal-vacuum test conditions so your electronics and optics stay inside their survival limits without a heater budget you can't afford.
Chasing one program often means you qualify for others you haven't heard of. These sister guides cover more of the U.S. non-dilutive landscape — same honest, no-nonsense approach. Not sure which fits what you're building? Ask us — we'll point you at the right doors, even the ones that aren't ours.
America's ~$4B/yr non-dilutive seed fund across 11 agencies.
Visit →Air Force & Space Force open topics and $3–15M matching funds.
Visit →Commercial tech to DoD via fast OTA prototype contracts.
Visit →Army prize competitions with a fast lane into Army SBIR.
Visit →Tell us what you're building and what you're chasing. We'll tell you what funding might fit and what an Ansys eval could cover — no cost, no obligation.
