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Help for Free
Space Alliance Outreach Program provides assistance to small businesses in need

By Anne Straub
Brevard Technical Journal

Sometimes, it does take a rocket scientist.

That’s what hundreds of Florida business owners have found when stumped by a technical problem.

“There are a lot of small business out there that have business skills and need a little bit of engineering support,” said Richard Wood, a senior vice president for AJT & Associates in Cape Canaveral. The company is one of many that participate in the Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program, an effort to give small businesses access to space industry expertise.

Through the program, businesses can receive up to 40 hours of free help from a space industry technical expert on a specific problem. Most solutions are provided within three months.

“A lot of people assume that because it’s free, there must be a catch somewhere, or some hidden charges. But there’s no catch. It’s just a way for NASA and the space agency to give back,” said Paul Secor, SATOP director at the Technological Research and Development Authority in Titusville.

The program started with state funding in 1994, operated by the TRDA. It expanded to Houston in 2000, and switched to NASA funding the following year. Today, SATOP is made up of NASA centers and contractors, as well as universities, and operates in Florida, Texas, New York and New Mexico.

Wood recently worked on a problem faced by Majestic Power Boats of Mims, which makes shallow-water fishing boats. The company had raised the outboard motors to allow the boats to operate in shallow water. That feature protected the propeller but caused another problem: The boats ran hot at top speeds because the engines were too high to receive enough cooling water.

Majestic redesigned the hull to feature a cut-out to funnel water up to cool the single outboard motor. The problem persisted, and Majestic turned to SATOP for help.

The company’s request went to AJT, which donates 250-plus engineering hours to SATOP throughout the year. Wood worked on a solution that would make use of the viscosity of water, the same property that makes water follow the edge of a glass then dribble down the side when it’s slowly poured out. He proposed adding a small wing to the edge of the boat’s hull in front of the motor. The wing helps draw the water higher, cooling the engine.

That was all the guidance Majestic needed, and it incorporated the wing into its hull design. “A manufacturer looking for help is a wonderful source of ingenuity in how to create something, and they just need an idea of where to go,” Wood said.

That was the case for Toby McCormick, owner of Toby’s Nose Filters on Merritt Island. A year ago, the entrepreneur started making and selling a device that, when inserted in the nose, filters out dust and large allergens without interrupting breathing. He wanted to offer another filter that would offer that benefit, and also filter out offensive odors.

He began experimenting with different materials, but nothing worked. SATOP hooked him up with one of the programs partners, the State University of New York’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

A professor there considered several solutions and settled on using activated carbon to absorb odors. The idea was great, McCormick said, but finding a company that could do it was just as difficult as coming up with the idea. SATOP came through again with a list of manufacturers who could handle the job.

“NASA supplying that assistance to small business people has tremendous value,” McCormick said. “It would have taken me years to do the research.”

McCormick has been selling the filters with activated carbon for four months, and already they’re a bigger seller than the original filters.

Majestic Boats and Toby’s Nose Filters are among the more than 700 solutions that have been offered in Florida since the program began. SATOP estimates the program has delivered a $70 million benefit to the state.

About 20 Brevard County businesses have requested help in the past two years, and 15 of those received a solution. SATOP rejects requests that are too vague, too large in scope, or can be solved with commercially available resources.

“We have the space program in our back yard,” said Sandy Pfrimmer, business services and advocacy manager for the Melbourne-Palm Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, one of many organizations that help promote SATOP. “Their technology is often head-and-shoulders above what other businesses have access to. Our tax dollars have already paid for this research. It’s a way to give local companies access to it.”

Companies can request help from SATOP online at www.spacetechsolutions.com.