Houston startups were recently named among the nearly 300 recipients that received a portion of $44.85 million from NASA to develop space technology. Photo via NASA/Ben Smegelsky

Three Houston startups were granted awards from NASA this month to develop new technologies for the space agency.

The companies are among nearly 300 recipients that received a total agency investment of $44.85 million through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I grant programs, according to NASA.

Each selected company will receive $150,000 and, based on their progress, will be eligible to submit proposals for up to $850,000 in Phase II funding to develop prototypes.

The SBIR program lasts for six months and contracts small businesses. The Houston NASA 2025 SBIR awardees include:

Solidec Inc.

  • Principal investigator: Yang Xia
  • Proposal: Highly reliable and energy-efficient electrosynthesis of high-purity hydrogen peroxide from air and water in a nanobubble facilitated porous solid electrolyte reactor

Rarefied Studios LLC

  • Principal investigator: Kyle Higdon
  • Proposal: Plume impingement module for autonomous proximity operations

The STTR program contracts small businesses in partnership with a research institution and lasts for 13 months. The Houston NASA 2025 STTR awardees include:

Affekta LLC

  • Principal investigator: Hedinn Steingrimsson
  • Proposal: Verifiable success in handling unknown unknowns in space habitat simulations and a cyber-physical system

Solidec and Affekta have ties to Rice University.

Solidec extracts molecules from water and air, then transforms them into pure chemicals and fuels that are free of carbon emissions. It was co-founded by Rice professor Haotian Wang and and was an Innovation Fellow at Rice’s Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. It was previouslt selected for Chevron Technology Ventures’ catalyst program, a Rice One Small Step grant, a U.S. Department of Energy grant, and the first cohort of the Activate Houston program.

Affekta, an AI course, AI assistance and e-learning platform, was a part of Rice's OwlSpark in 2023.

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Houston brain, spine cancer diagnostics company to launch patient testing

fighting cancer

A Houston-based company is beginning a push on its proven test for central nervous system (CNS) cancers.

“We're going to start rolling out just in Texas and doing patient testing in the state of Texas, first with a few accounts where we've established a relationship, and then we'll continue our rollout through the United States in the next year or so,” says Russell Bradley, president and general manager of CNSide Diagnostics.

Bradley had retired from multinational diagnostics company Abbott Laboratories when he met Marc Hendrick, the CEO of Austin’s Plus Therapeutics, last year. When Hendrick told him about the recent acquisition of CNSide, a company formerly based in San Diego, Bradley says he felt compelled to join in its mission.

CNSide’s CSF assay tests cerebrospinal fluid for cancers that have metastasized to the spine or brain, primarily carcinomas and melanomas.

“Typically, they do an MRI, and that won't always show anything. If it's early stage, they do cytology, which is not very sensitive at finding cancer cells in the cerebrospinal fluid. By the time they're diagnosed, it can be very late-stage, and oftentimes, in fact, the studies show that half of these patients don't get treated,” Bradley says.

CNSide, then, is a ray of hope for patients who are often consigned to palliative care. By diagnosing their metastasis sooner, physicians have more treatment options to stop the CNS cancer before it’s wreaked havoc. Bradley also points out that once a treatment regimen is underway, doctors can continue to measure the cancer’s progress or lack thereof. He claims that, of the roughly 300 neuro-oncologists in the United States, about 200 have already used the test.

Moving from California to Houston briefly slowed progress for CNSide, but now, matters are moving ahead at a steady clip.

“It takes a little bit of time to establish the test in a new location, move the apparatus and establish the processes,” Bradley says. “You have to get the lab accredited, which we just did. So we're now accredited to run patient samples, and we've really just been doing our research samples as part of the clinical studies.”

Texas institutions, such as the University of Texas - Southwestern, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Mays Cancer Center, Baylor Scott & White Health and Texas Oncology, are beginning to use the technology.

Bradley, who lives in Austin but spends much of his time in Houston, says that the city has been nothing less than an ideal fit for the needs of his growing company and a lab that’s currently hiring. He praises the logistics potential of being close to a major hub, which will eventually be a key factor for getting lumbar puncture samples from around the country to the lab for quick testing.

“I think the business environment in Texas, generally, and in Houston, specifically, for us and the access to talent with a lot of institutions here around the Houston area that graduate the type of people that we want to employ is remarkable. And I'd say the cherry on top is really just access to world-class institutions like MD Anderson. I think from a holistic and comprehensive point of view, Houston has a lot to offer a company like us,” Bradley says.

And ultimately, what brought Bradley and CNSide to Texas is the quest to prolong the lives of people living with cancer. As he puts it, “It's a true privilege—and I know I speak on behalf of the team at CNSide and Plus—to be able to impact these patients and have the tools at this time in the history of cancer diagnostics to be able to really make a difference.”

Houston autonomous trucking co. completes first test run without human intervention

on the road

Houston-based Bot Auto, an autonomous trucking company, has completed its first test run without human assistance. Bot Auto conducted the test in Houston.

“The truck operated seamlessly within its defined operational domain with no one in the cab or remote assistance, navigating real-world traffic conditions,” the company said in a news release. “The run was executed at sunset, successfully navigating day and night operations.”

Bot Auto, a transportation-as-a-service startup, added that this milestone “serves as a validation benchmark, demonstrating the maturity and safety of Bot Auto’s autonomy stack and test protocols.”

The successful test comes two years after Xiaodi Hou, a globally recognized expert in autonomous vehicles, founded Bot Auto.

“This validation run is a meaningful step, but it’s a waypoint, not the destination,” Hou, CEO of Bot Auto, added in the release. “Success is simple: Autonomy must beat human cost-per-mile, consistently and safely. And at Bot Auto, humanless means no human — not in the driver’s seat, not in the back seat, and not behind a remote joystick.”

For several months, Bot Auto has been conducting autonomous trucking tests on a Houston-to-San Antonio route. In the coming months, Bot Auto will operate its first commercial cargo run without human assistance between its Houston and San Antonio hubs.

“Our mission is to revolutionize the transportation industry with our autonomous trucks, making a lasting positive impact on humanity,” the company says.

Last October, Bot Auto announced it had raised $20 million in pre-series A funding from Brightway Future Capital, Cherubic Ventures, EnvisionX Capital, First Star Ventures, Linear Capital, M31 Capital, Taihill Venture, Uphonest Capital, and Welight Capital.

This summer, Hou told the Front Lines podcast that Bot Auto had raised more than $45 million altogether.

Hobby debuts solar canopy as airport system reaches new sustainability milestone

solar solutions

Houston's William P. Hobby Airport is generating its own clean energy.

Houston Aiports announced that Hobby's red garage is now home to a "solar canopy" that is producing energy at 100 percent capacity to power daily operations. The photovoltaic (PV) solar system generated more than 1.1 gigawatt-hours of electricity in testing, and is expected to produce up to 1 megawatt-hour now that it's operating at full power.

“This project is proof that sustainability can be practical, visible and directly tied to the passenger experience,” Jim Szczesniak, director of aviation for Houston Airports, said in a news release. “Passengers now park under a structure that shields their cars from the Texas sun while generating clean energy that keeps airport operations running efficiently, lowering overall peak demand electrical costs during the day and our carbon footprint. It’s a win for travelers, the city and the planet.”

The project was completed by Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) and CenterPoint Energy. It's part of Houston Airport's efforts to reduce carbon emissions by 40 percent over its 2019 baseline.

In a separate announcement, the airport system also shared that it recently reached Level 3 in the Airports Council International (ACI) Airport Carbon Accreditation program after reducing emissions by 19 percent in three years. This includes reductions at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), Hobby and Ellington Airport/Houston Spaceport.

The reductions have come from initiatives such as adding electric vehicles to airport fleets, upgrading airfield lighting with LED bulbs, adding smarter power systems to terminals, and improving IAH's central utility plant with more efficient equipment. Additionally, the expansion to Hobby's West Concourse and renovations at IAH Terminal B incorporate cleaner equipment and technology.

According to Houston Airports, from 2019 to 2023:

  • IAH reduced emissions by 17 percent
  • Hobby reduced emissions by 32 percent
  • Ellington Airport reduced emissions by 4 percent

"I see firsthand how vital it is to link infrastructure with sustainability,” Houston City Council Member Twila Carter, chair of the council’s Resilience Committee, said in the release. “Reducing carbon emissions at our airports isn’t just about cleaner travel — it’s about smarter planning, safer communities and building a Houston that can thrive for generations to come.”