NASA SBIR 2014 Solicitation

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Southwest Sciences, Inc.
1570 Pacheco Street, Suite E-11
Santa Fe, NM 87505 - 3993
(505) 984-1322

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Mark Paige
mpaige@swsciences.com
1570 Pacheco Street, Suite E-11
Santa Fe, NM 87505 - 3993
(505) 984-1322

CORPORATE/BUSINESS OFFICIAL (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Alan Stanton
astanton@swsciences.com
1570 Pacheco St, Suite E-11
Santa Fe, NM 87505 - 3993
(505) 984-1322

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 8

Technology Available (TAV) Subtopics
Airborne Measurement Systems is a Technology Available (TAV) subtopic that includes NASA Intellectual Property (IP). Do you plan to use the NASA IP under the award?
No

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (Limit 2000 characters, approximately 200 words)
An aircraft system for detecting ambient methane will be developed in this project. The system will use a diode laser to perform a wavelength modulation absorption measurement of this greenhouse gas. The optical system will feature a open path system that is mounted outside the aircraft. The system will make measurements at a 10 Hz rate.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
The instrument developed in this project will be used to measure an important greenhouse gas which NASA is actively interested in their air campaigns. Because of its low weight, small size, and low power consumption, this instrument will be easily configured to perform measurements on a small unmanned aerial vehicle.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
Aside from NASA, atmospheric researchers and other government agencies such as DOE and NCAR will have interest in using the instrument being developed for aerial campaigns. The Phase I apparatus can be used for car top natural gas leak detection by utility companies. The aircraft version of the instrument will have applications in pipeline monitoring and gas exploration.