Dr. Troy Howe joins host Jason Kanigan on the Cold Star Project to discuss the ways Howe Industries is using NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) grants to innovate in space.

We cover:

• What is Howe's SPEAR project and the NIAC-supported objectives - How the NIAC grant proposal process works
• What project milestones look like
• How a new thermocouple design by Howe could extend mission lifetimes
• What other smallsat technologies Dr. Howe believes need to be developed so the upcoming Europa mission can be successful
• Could the approximately six year process from founding his company through achieving grant approval been sped up, or is this pace simply typical?
• What does the Center for Space Nuclear Research, where Dr. Howe was for four years as a research scientist, focus on, and what was he most proud of in his work there?

NIAC Phase-1 SPEAR Probe info page: https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/niac/2019_Phase_I_Phase_II/SPEAR_Probe/

Howe Industries website: https://www.howeindustries.net/

Talk to Cold Star: https://www.coldstartech.com/bookcall