NASA SBIR 2009 Solicitation

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Vanilla Aircraft, LLC
2822 Mary Street
Falls Church, VA 22042 - 7716
(703) 849-9070

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Daniel N. Hatfield
daniel@vanillaaircraft.com
2822 Mary Street
Falls Church, VA 22042 - 7716
(703) 849-9070

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (Limit 2000 characters, approximately 200 words)
Currently, wide area coverage with manned aircraft, or existing unmanned air systems, requires expensive logistical operations and many flight sorties, which are made especially difficult if operating from remote airfields in inhospitable climates. There is currently a need for a low-altitude long endurance unmanned aircraft that can provide the expansive coverage necessary for cryospheric investigations. Extreme cold places unique requirements on aircraft if they are to operate consistently and reliably in these environments. Building on the successful results of the Phase 1 SBIR work, this Phase 2 SBIR will test low temperature long-endurance unmanned aircraft engine and systems technologies in a relevant environment through flight test of a prototype unmanned air system and associated work.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
The proposed development will play a useful role for NASA, particularly in conjunction with Operation ICE Bridge. This program is intended as a stopgap for polar ice mapping using NASA's aerial assets until the launch of ICESat-II in 2014-15. The wide area coverage needed by NASA to assist in this mission necessitates a low-altitude long endurance unmanned aircraft capable of reliably operating in extremely cold conditions.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
Low altitude ultra-long endurance aerial capability has broad applications outside of NASA, including other environmental research organizations and government agencies, as well as for maritime surveillance, distant search and rescue and other functions for a broad range of public and civil entities. The platform will reach a system maturity to allow maximum endurance missions by a broad range of civil and public entities at a time that coincides with the FAA time frame for broad integration of UAS into the national airspace. This integration will greatly expand the market beyond the mostly government customers that exists today.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING (NASA's technology taxonomy has been developed by the SBIR-STTR program to disseminate awareness of proposed and awarded R/R&D in the agency. It is a listing of over 100 technologies, sorted into broad categories, of interest to NASA.)

Aircraft Engines