Gravitics Selected for NASA SBIR Award to Develop Commercial Sample Return Hangar

Phase I award supports an orbital hangar designed to lower the cost of returning mass from orbit and enable a regular return cadence for customers manufacturing in space

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Gravitics, Inc., an orbital infrastructure company, today announced it has been selected by NASA for a 2026 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I award. The award supports development of the Multiple-Downmass Hangar, a system for affordable and frequent commercial sample return from low Earth orbit.

The Multiple-Downmass Hangar is designed to hold multiple return vehicles on a single orbital platform, ready to bring samples and other materials produced on-orbit back to Earth without waiting for a dedicated return flight. Material return remains a constraint for customers conducting research or manufacturing on-orbit. Gravitics’ persistent orbital logistics approach is designed to allow customers to bring materials home on their own schedules by providing multiple return vehicles in orbit, ready for customer use.

“Gravitics remains focused on cargo logistics solutions for low Earth orbit,” said Colin Doughan, Chief Executive Officer of Gravitics. “Adding innovative return capability is a natural evolution of our current cargo delivery architecture, and we look forward to advancing this technology with NASA.”

The six-month Phase I effort focuses on establishing the technical merit and feasibility of the concept, with an architecture designed to lower the cost of returning mass from orbit and support a regular return cadence. NASA announced its Phase I selections on August 6, 2026. The selection is subject to contract negotiation through the NASA Shared Services Center.

The NASA SBIR/STTR program is part of America’s Seed Fund, the nation’s largest source of early-stage, non-dilutive funding for innovative technologies. Through the program, small businesses receive funding and support to build, mature, and commercialize technologies that advance NASA missions.

About Gravitics, Inc.

Gravitics designs and manufactures large volume, standardized orbital infrastructure and logistics systems for space operations. The company's Orbital Carrier and Viper OTX programs are designed to provide pre-positioned, on-demand, and rapid orbital transfer capability for defense, civil, and commercial operators. Gravitics is executing a STRATFI contract with the U.S. Space Force and advancing its first commercial partnerships for cargo delivery to low Earth orbit destinations. Visit gravitics.com to learn more.