TechPort Portfolio — Overview¶
Established: 2026-04-05 | Data snapshot: 2026-04-04 | Phase transitioned: 2026-04-06 (session 63)
Summary¶
TechPort tracks ~20,152 R&D projects (snapshot 2026-04-04) across 77 program groups. It is an almost entirely historical database: 96.2% of projects are Completed, 3.4% Active, 0.4% Canceled. The live portfolio (693 active projects) is small but substantive and skews toward NASA centers and universities rather than industry.
STMD dominates at 83.5% of all projects, driven almost entirely by SBIR/STTR (60.9% of the full portfolio). Strip SBIR/STTR and the database looks very different: ~7,880 non-SBIR projects spanning GCD, STRG, NIAC, FO, CIF programs, IRAD, and others.
Top-Line Numbers¶
| Field | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Total projects | 20,152 | aggregate by status |
| Active | 693 (3.4%) | aggregate by status |
| Completed | 19,386 (96.2%) | aggregate by status |
| Canceled | 73 (0.4%) | aggregate by status |
| Distinct program groups | 77 | aggregate by program |
| SBIR/STTR share | 12,272 (60.9%) | aggregate by program |
| Data snapshot | 2026-04-04 | tool metadata |
Program Distribution (all-time)¶
Top programs by project count:
| Program | Count | % | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| SBIR/STTR | 12,272 | 60.9% | Industry-led R&D grants, Phase I/II structure |
| STRG | 1,102 | 5.5% | Academic research grants |
| GSFC IRAD | 858 | 4.3% | Center independent R&D |
| GCD | 468 | 2.3% | NASA center-led mid-TRL development |
| FO | 430 | 2.1% | Flight test validation |
| NIAC | 327 | 1.6% | Concept-phase visionary studies |
| CIF (all centers) | ~1,630 | ~8.1% | Center Innovation Fund, various centers |
| IRAD (all centers) | ~1,060 | ~5.3% | Center internal R&D |
CIF and IRAD are each fragmented across 10 center-specific sub-programs.
Active Portfolio (693 projects, 2026-04-04)¶
Active program breakdown is quite different from historical:
| Program | Active | % of Active | Active Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| STRG | 195 | 28.1% | 17.7% of all STRG |
| SBIR/STTR | 133 | 19.2% | 1.1% of all SBIR |
| GCD | 54 | 7.8% | 11.5% of all GCD |
| FO | 51 | 7.4% | 11.9% of all FO |
| MCO | 49 | 7.1% | 40% of all MCO |
| APRA | 30 | 4.3% | 12.2% of all APRA |
| NIAC | 13 | 1.9% | 4.0% of all NIAC |
STRG's 17.7% active rate reflects a large recent cohort; MCO's 40% reflects a new program. SBIR's 1.1% reflects that Phase I/II contracts run short (6-24 months) and most are historical.
Mission Directorate Split¶
| MD | Projects | % |
|---|---|---|
| STMD | 16,827 | 83.5% |
| MSD | 1,284 | 6.4% |
| SMD | 1,226 | 6.1% |
| OSTEM | 346 | 1.7% |
| SOMD | 216 | 1.1% |
| ESDMD | 149 | 0.7% |
| ARMD | 82 | 0.4% |
STMD dominance is a direct artifact of SBIR/STTR classification.
Technology Taxonomy (TX)¶
| TX Area | Count | % |
|---|---|---|
| TX08 (Science Instruments) | 4,128 | 20.5% |
| TX06 (Human Health/Life Support) | 2,339 | 11.6% |
| TX01 (Propulsion) | 1,849 | 9.2% |
| TX12 (Materials/Structures/Mfg) | 1,798 | 8.9% |
| TX03 (Power/Energy) | 1,135 | 5.6% |
| TX11 (Modeling/Simulation/IT) | 1,086 | 5.4% |
| TX14 (Thermal) | 981 | 4.9% |
| TX05 (Comm/Nav/Orbital Debris) | 942 | 4.7% |
| (none) | 816 | 4.1% |
TX08 dominance partly reflects SBIR which skews toward instruments. 4.1% lack any TX assignment — reasonable coverage.
Destinations¶
| Destination | Count | % |
|---|---|---|
| Earth | 6,211 | 30.8% |
| (empty string) | 5,984 | 29.7% |
| Moon and Cislunar | 3,008 | 14.9% |
| Mars | 2,639 | 13.1% |
| Others Inside Solar System | 2,073 | 10.3% |
| Outside Solar System | 1,063 | 5.3% |
| (none) | 1,049 | 5.2% |
| Foundational Knowledge | 1,001 | 5.0% |
| Sun | 305 | 1.5% |
| Low Earth Orbit | 170 | 0.8% |
Warning: 29.7% have empty string destination, distinct from the 5.2% marked none. This is a data quality artifact — total "unset destination" is ~35%. See field-completeness.md.
Lead Organization Type¶
| Type | Count | % |
|---|---|---|
| Industry | 8,820 | 43.8% |
| NASA Center | 7,546 | 37.4% |
| Academia | 2,180 | 10.8% |
| FFRDC/UARC | 1,038 | 5.2% |
| (none) | 384 | 1.9% |
Industry majority is SBIR-driven. Strip SBIR and NASA Centers would dominate.
Temporal Distribution¶
Projects started 2009–2024 show roughly flat distribution (900-1,250/year), with 2019-2022 slightly elevated. Thin data pre-2009 (TechPort was launched ~2009). 2025 is underrepresented (197 starts) — likely still being entered.
What TechPort Covers vs. Doesn't¶
Covers: NASA STMD-funded R&D (SBIR/STTR, GCD, STRG, NIAC, FO, SST, TDM), center IRAD and CIF programs, some SMD instrument development, HRP, SCaN.
Does not cover well: Operational missions (science missions get thin representation), procurement contracts, inter-agency work, most ESDMD (HLS, Orion, SLS have <20 projects each).
Phase 1 Quality Map¶
Summary of data trustworthiness by program — see detailed analysis in linked pages:
| Program | TRL coverage | Outcome tracking | Documents | Overall quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STRG | ★★★★★ (98.7%) | ★★★★ (good) | ★★★ (moderate) | High |
| NIAC | ★★★★ (85.6%) | ★★★★★ (95%+) | ★★★★ (3-6 items typical) | High |
| FO | ★★★★ (93.8%) | ★★★ (moderate) | ★★★ (moderate) | High |
| SBIR/STTR | ★★★ (66.7%) | ★★★★ (most tracked) | ★★★ (some docs) | Moderate |
| GCD | ★★ (70.5% but 16.5% is TRL-0) | ★★ (patchy) | ★★ (few for recent) | Low-Moderate |
Related Pages¶
- programs/sbir-sttr.md — SBIR/STTR program deep dive
- programs/niac.md — NIAC program deep dive
- programs/gcd.md — GCD program deep dive
- programs/strg.md — STRG program deep dive
- programs/fo.md — Flight Opportunities deep dive
- topics/trl-distributions.md — TRL analysis across programs
- topics/outcome-tracking.md — Outcome and lineage coverage
- topics/field-completeness.md — Data quality map
Phase 1 → Phase 2 Transition (session 63, 2026-04-06)¶
Phase 1 complete. Reasonable coverage achieved across all Phase 1 criteria: - Outcome tracking: Documented in outcome-tracking.md (three undercount mechanisms, Closed_Out masking, 0.57% Infused_To undercount) - Taxonomy quality: 20 documented anomalies (Issues 1-20) in field-completeness.md; mismatch rates by TX area established - TRL distributions: By program in trl-distributions.md; GCD worst, STRG best - Document availability: By program in document-availability.md; NIAC ~100%, SBIR ~35%, FO ~15% - Field completeness: Major programs (SBIR, STRG, NIAC, GCD, FO, MCO, TDM, CIF, IRAD, ACT, APRA) all have program pages
Phase 2 now active: Investigate technology substance. Read documents, build topic pages on what NASA is developing and why, trace maturation paths. Use Phase 1 quality map to focus effort on programs with trustworthy data.
Open Threads (Phase 2)¶
- SBIR TRL 8-9 document reads — Confirmed approach: read briefing charts from high-TRL completions to find flight successes hidden as Closed_Out. Supply chain split mechanism documented (Plasma Processes → GPIM).
- APRA suborbital missions — MANTIS, PICTURE-D, REDSoX — have any flown? These are real missions if TRL 4→9 is achieved.
- APRA completed portfolio — 216 completed projects, 65% null TRL. May hide flight successes analogous to SBIR masking.
- TX mismatch rate (within-area blind spot) — Issue 18/20 partially addressed; within-TX sub-category disagreements still uncounted.