SHAHEEN ANNOUNCES NASA FUNDING FOR NH ENGINEERING FIRM

(Washington, D.C.) - U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen today announced Creare Inc., a Hanover-based engineering research and development firm, will receive three contract awards from NASA through the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.  The awards, each of which could be as large as $600,000, will fund development of three Creare projects designed to address specific technology gaps in NASA missions while complementing other NASA research investments. 

"Continued investment in small businesses is critical to our nation's economic recovery," said Shaheen.  "This award will not only allow Creare to continue its cutting-edge research and contributions to the New Hampshire economy, but also advance NASA's mission by supplying it with the technology it needs for the future." 

"Creare is very pleased to have the opportunity to continue to develop highly innovative technologies for NASA," said Creare President and Principal Engineer James Barry.  "Projects such as these are excellent examples of the challenging work undertaken by Creare and similar small technology companies under the SBIR program.  We appreciate Senator Shaheen's strong support of SBIR and her continuing efforts to reauthorize this vital technology program for small companies in New Hampshire and across the nation."

The NASA funding will support three Creare projects:  a miniature vacuum pump for use on a future mission to one of Saturn's moons; a cooling system for astronaut spacesuits; and a key component of a specialized magnetic refrigeration system to be used for cooling instruments and sensors in advanced observatories and telescopes.  The exact amount of the awards will be determined in the coming months.

The highly competitive SBIR program provides qualified small businesses with opportunities to propose unique ideas that meet specific needs of all the major federal research and development agencies.   Senator Shaheen is a cosponsor of Senate bill 1233, legislation designed to reauthorize and strengthen the SBIR program.