Hot-Fire Demonstration of Cascading Rocket Nozzles

The goal of project is to design a rocket engine nozzle that generates massive thrust in a tiny package. The cascade nozzles combine clustering and contouring to pack significant thrust in a petite package. They reduce inert vehicle mass that can be utilized for larger payloads and in various back pressure environments with a common design (i.e. Earth, Mars, in-space).

Simulations show ~50% increase in thrust at ~97.5% nozzle efficiency and ~15% bell-nozzle length. Drop in replacement nozzle for existing combustion devices.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.