Ecotera Energy has completed work on a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract which was awarded by NASA for the study of Thermochemical Energy Conversion for nuclear electric power in space.

The reduction in size and weight of components made possible by the application of advanced technology is of great interest to NASA. One of the major costs of a spaceflight is getting the payload into space. Reducing the size and weight of spacecraft components reduces launch cost for those components and allows for increased allocation of space and weight for other mission specific purposes.

The NASA contract has allowed Ecotera to further develop and refine a computer based model of an active working fluid thermochemical energy conversion system, and will provide valuable data for a bench model TEC system that is under development.

• For more information on NASA see NASA.gov - National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  
• SBIR contracts are an excellent way to combine the diverse talent and expertise of small businesses in collaboration with government agencies to work as partners towards a common goal. For more information on the SBIR program see the Small Business Association SBIR/STTR website.