MAKEL ENGINEERING, INC.

Chico, CA · Aerospace · Private

Multi-Parameter Astronaut Life Support Sensor (M-PALSS) array of miniaturized chemical microsensors for monitoring oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, pressure, and trace gases in portable life suppo

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Updated Oct 23, 2026 · makelengineering.com

Sector: Aerospace
Headquarters: Chico, CA
Total capital: $32.7M

Federal grants: $8.9M; 10 awards · 2015–2026; Rank in peer group#6 of 18
Private capital raised: None on recordNo Form D filings on SEC EDGAR. Some raises are not filed.
Federal contracts: $23.8M; 56 awards · NASA, Defense, Commerce; Rank in Aerospace#136 of 1335
Granted patents: None on recordNo USPTO grants. Applications publish after 18 months.

Capital timeline

Latest events

Sep 2026Federal grantNASA · Phase II · SBIR Phase II - High Pressure, In-situ Hydrogen Sensor For Space Based Regenerative Fuel Cell Systems$1.3M
Mar 2026Federal contractTransportation · Procurement For Eight Non-flight Single Channel Hydrogen Leak Detector Sensors.$63K
Sep 2025Federal contractNASA · SBIR I High Pressure In-situ Hydrogen Sensor For Space Based Regenerative Fuel Cell Systems$150K
Sep 2025Federal grantNASA · Phase I · SBIR I High Pressure In-situ Hydrogen Sensor For Space Based Regenerative Fuel Cell Systems$150K
Sep 2025Federal contractNASA · Phase III SBIR - Development Of The Multi-parameter Astronaut Life Support Sensor (m-palss) Module For Extravehicular Activity (eva) Portable Life Support System (plss)$375K
May 2023Federal grantNASA · Phase II · Compact, Low Power, Multi-Parameter Astronaut Life Support Sensor (M-PALSS)$900K
May 2023Federal contractNASA · Compact, Low Power, Multi-parameter Astronaut Life Support Sensor (m-palss)$1.3M

Show 59 earlier federal awards

Mar 2023Federal contractHomeland Security · SBIR Phase II Cpff Award To Makel Engineering, Inc.$1.0M
Sep 2022Federal grantNASA · Phase II · Chemical and Particulate Microsensor Instrument for UAV Airborne Measurements Near Wildfires$2.7M
Jul 2022Federal contractNASA · EO14042 SBIR Phase I Compact, Low Power, Multi-parameter Astronaut Life Support Sensor (m-palss)$150K
May 2022Federal contractHomeland Security · 22.1 DHS221-010-0007-I Wearable Multimodal Aerosolized Chemical Threat Detector$150K
Sep 2021Federal grantNASA · Phase II · Environmental Monitoring Microsensor Array (EMMA) for Free Flying Robots$760K
Jun 2021Federal contractDefense · Medical Research And Development Phase II Enhancement With Matching Funds/phase III (months 1-12)$703K
Aug 2020Federal contractNASA · Environmental Monitoring Microsensor Array (emma) For Free Flying Robots$125K
Aug 2020Federal contractNASA · Solid-state, Electrochemical Micro-sensors For Atmospheric Nitrogen And Carbon Dioxide Measurements At The Surface Of Venus$50K
Jul 2020Federal grantNASA · Phase II · Venus In-Situ Mineralogy Reaction Array (VIMRA) Sensor Platform$750K
Jun 2020Federal contractDefense · Research&development$2.8M
Aug 2019Federal contractNASA · Venus In-situ Mineralogy Reaction Array (vimra) Sensor Platform$125K
Jun 2019Federal contractNASA · Makel Engineering, Inc. (mei) Proposes To Develop High Temperature, Solid State Sensors To Monitor Carbon Dioxide (CO2) And Nitrogen (N2) In The Venus Atmosphere. A Harsh Environment Chemical Sensor Array Suitable For Measuring Key Trace Species In The Venus Atmosphere Has Been Developed By Mei Under A Recent SBIR Program. Currently There Are No Demonstrated Chemical Microsensors Suitable To Measure The Two Most Abundant Species (CO2 ~ 97% And N2~ 3%) In The Venus Atmosphere At High Pressure And$800K
Sep 2018Federal grantDefense · Phase II · Wearable Chemical Multi Modal Monitor for Total Exposure Health - WearCM3$750K
Sep 2018Federal contractDefense · Wearable Chemical Multi Modal Monitor For Total Exposure Health WEARCM3 - SBIR II$1.2M
Jul 2018Federal contractNASA · Makel Engineering, Inc. (mei) Proposes To Develop High Temperature, Solid State Sensors To Monitor Carbon Dioxide (CO2) And Nitrogen (N2) In The Venus Atmosphere. A Harsh Environment Chemical Sensor Array Suitable For Measuring Key Trace Species In The Venus Atmosphere Has Been Developed By Mei Under A Recent SBIR Program. Currently There Are No Demonstrated Chemical Microsensors Suitable To Measure The Two Most Abundant Species (CO2 ~ 97% And N2~ 3%) In The Venus Atmosphere At High Pressure And$125K
Jun 2018Federal contractNASA · Multi-sensor Chemical Sensor Probve For 10X10 Supersonic Wind Tunnel$20K
Apr 2018Federal contractDefense · Igf::ot::igf New Dha STTR Phase II H2-0283 Inspire - In-mask Sensors For Physiological Investigation Of Respiratory Exhalation$995K
Apr 2018Federal contractDefense · Pe Mitigation$146K
Aug 2017Federal contractDefense · Igf::ot::igf Wearable Chemical Multi Modal Monitor For Total Exposure Health - Wear CM3 - SBIR I$150K
Jun 2017Federal contractNASA · Igf::ot::igf Makel Engineering, Inc. And Lawrence Livermore National Lab Propose To Develop A New Class Of Microwave-interrogated Embedded Sensors For Nondestructive Evaluation (nde) Of Complex Structures. Three-dimensional Sensors Will Be Formed By Additive Manufacturing Technology And Will Employ Advanced Sensing Materials For Accurate Measurement Of Structural Integrity. Microwaves Are A Particularly Effective And Versatile Probe For Complex Structures Because They Readily Penetrate A Wide R$125K
May 2017Federal contractCommerce · Igf::ot::igf "other Functions" - This Award Is For The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II For FY2016'S Program Announcement For The Technology Partnerships Office Under The Office Of Atmospheric Research In Silver Spring, Md. This Award Is For Proposal 16-2-102 Entitled "high Sensitivity, Miniaturized Co Sensor For Airborne Use On Small Uavs."$400K
May 2017Federal contractDefense · Igf::ct::igf Dhp STTR 16.C Phase I Award$145K
Apr 2017Federal contractNASA · Igf::ot::igf Makel Engineering, Inc. (mei) Working With Ozark Integrated Circuits, Inc (ozic) And United Silicon Carbide, Inc. (usci) Will Develop A High Temperature Sic Electronics To Support Chemical Microsensors For Measuring The Atmosphere Of Venus At The Surface For Extended Durations (100'S Of Days). The Chemical Sensor Array For Measuring Species At The Surface Of Venus Has Been Developed By Mei. The Venus Microsensor Chemical Array Can Operate In A 500 C Environment, But Currently Relie$750K
Apr 2017Federal contractNASA · Igf::ot::igf Makel Engineering Inc. (mei) Is Developing Flight Capable Chemical Microsensor Arrays For In Situ Monitoring Of High Temperature Bleed Air And Turbine Exhaust In Jet Engines. The Proposed Chemical Sensor Probes Will Be A New Class Of Onboard Engine Instrumentation For Real Time Monitoring Engine And Bleed Air System Operation In Flight. Sensor Arrays Developed By Mei Have Been Demonstrated For Ground Tests To Quantify Composition Of Critical Constituents In Turbine Engine Exhaust P$749K
Sep 2016Federal grantDefense · Phase I · Development of powder bed printing (3DP) for rapid and flexible fabrication of energetic material payloads and munitions$150K
Sep 2016Federal contractDefense · Igf::ot::igf Orthogonal Air Quality Sensor Suite -SBIR II$750K
Jun 2016Federal contractNASA · Igf::ot::igf Makel Engineering Inc. (mei), Proposes To Develop Flight Capable Chemical Microsensor Arrays For In-situ Monitoring Of High Temperature Bleed Air And Turbine Exhaust In Jet Engines. The Proposed Chemical Sensor Probes Will Be A New Class Of On-board Engine Instrumentation For Real Time Monitoring Of Engine And Bleed Air System Operation In Flight. Sensor Arrays Developed By Mei Have Been Demonstrated For Ground Tests Usage To Quantify Composition Of Critical Constituents In Turbine$125K
Jun 2016Federal contractNASA · Igf::ot::igf Makel Engineering, Inc. Proposes To Develop A High Temperature, Radiation Hard Electronics Sensing Architecture For A High Temperature Chemical Sensor Array Suitable For Measuring Key Chemical Species In The Venus Atmosphere. The Previously Developed Venus Microsensor Chemical Array (vmca) Consists Of Sensing Elements Which Can Operate In A 500 C Environment, But Which Currently Rely On Silicon Based Electronics For Signal Acquisition, Control And Data Transmission, Which Requires $125K
Jun 2016Federal contractNASA · Igf::ot::igf Makel Engineering, Inc. Proposes To Develop A Low Cost, UAV Based Microsensor Array Payload For Monitoring Volcanic Processes Such As Plume Vents And Hot Lava Flows. Microsensor Arrays, Each Consisting Of Four To Eight High Temperature Sensors For Species Such As Ocs, Hf, Hcl, Nox, Co, Sox, CH4, H2O, O2, And CO2, Will Be Packaged With Electronics And Data Transmission Capability. The High Temperature Thick And Film Microsensors For The Species Of Interest Have Been Developed For Ve$125K
May 2016Federal contractCommerce · Igf::ot::igf "other Functions" - This Award Is For The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I For FY2016'S Program Announcement For The Technology Partnerships Office Under The Office Of Atmospheric Research In Silver Spring, Md. This Award Is For Proposal 16-1-103 A Project Titled "high Sensitivity, Miniaturized Co Sensor For Airborne Use On Small Uavs."$120K
Apr 2016Federal grantNASA · Phase II · Multi-Species Chemical Microsensor For Real Time Cryogenic Purge Line Monitoring$750K
Apr 2016Federal contractNASA · Igf::ot::igf Makel Engineering, Inc. Proposes To Develop A Miniaturized Multi-species Chemical Microsensor Instrument Suitable For Real-time, In Situ Measurements Of Hydrogen, Oxygen, Water Vapor And Mixture Thermal Conductivity For Monitoring Purge Effectiveness In Cryogenic Propellant Lines. Helium Is A Scarce, Strategic And Non-renewable Natural Resource. NASA Is A Major User Of Helium And Significant Future Cost Savings In Operations Can Be Realized With Improved Monitoring Of Purge Activiti$755K
Jul 2015Federal contractDefense · Igf::ot::igf Orthogonal Air Quality Sensor Suite - SBIR 1$150K
Jun 2015Federal contractNASA · Igf::ot::igf Makel Engineering, Inc. Proposes To Develop A Miniaturized Multi-species Chemical Microsensor Instrument Suitable For Real-time, In Situ Measurements Of Hydrogen Or Methane, Oxygen, Water Vapor And Mixture Thermal Conductivity For Monitoring Purge Effectiveness In Cryogenic Propellant Lines. Helium Is A Scarce, Strategic And Non-renewable Natural Resource. NASA Is A Major User Of Helium And Significant Future Cost Savings In Operations Can Be Realized With Improved Monitoring Of Pur$125K
May 2015Federal grantNASA · Phase II · Chemical Microsensor Instrument for UAV Airborne Atmospheric Measurements$750K
May 2015Federal contractNASA · Igf::ot::igf The Rapid Expansion Of Available UAV Types And Increased Mission Capability (payload, Flight Duration, And System Cost Reductions) Offers Wide Range Of Potential Applications. The Airborne Chemical Microsensor System (ams) Instrument Package Being Developed Adapts Low Cost And Low Power Chemical Microsensor Technology Which Has Been Demonstrated For Fire Detection And Exhaust Emission Monitoring To Airborne Measurements. The Fast Time Response And Miniaturized System Will Provide A $755K
Jun 2014Federal contractNASA · Igf::ot::igf Makel Engineering, Inc. (mei) Proposes To Develop A Miniaturized Airborne Chemical Microsensor Instrument (acmi) Suitable For Real-time, Airborne Measurements Of Trace Carbon Dioxide, Sulfur Dioxide, And Methane For Use On Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (uavs.) The Potential Of Uavs To Carry Instrument Packages To Support Atmospheric Science Has Been Demonstrated Over The Past Decade. The Rapid Expansion Of Available UAV Types And Increased Mission Capability (payload, Flight Duration, An$125K
Sep 2013Federal contractNASA · Igf::ot::igf Makel Engineering And The Ohio State University Propose To Develop A Harsh Environment Tolerant Gas Sensor Array For Atmospheric Analysis In Future Venus Missions. The Proposed Instrument Will Be Very Compact, Require Low Power, And Ruggedly Packaged To Be Compatible With A Drop Sonde Payload From A Balloon For Atmospheric Composition Analysis And/or For Use On Venus Surface Lander Or Surface Weather Station. The Goal Is To Provide Information On Local Sox Co, O2, Nox, H2, Ocs, Hf, $750K
Sep 2013Federal contractNASA · Igf::ot::igf - Microsensor Array$313K
Aug 2012Federal contractNASA · Sap Purchase Requisition: 4200439073$9K
Jun 2012Federal contractNASA · Smart Hydrogen Sensors$59K
Apr 2012Federal contractNASA · Igf::ot::igf Other Function - The Goal Of This Program Is To Develop A Miniaturized And In-situ Operated Gas Microsensor Array For The Real Time Monitoring Of Chemical Composition Of Turbine Engine Combustors And/or Exhaust Streams To Improve Nasa's Aeronautical Flight Test Capabilities. Phase II Will Develop A High Temperature Microsensor Array Suitable For Incorporation In Engines, As Installed In Aircraft. Sensor Arrays Developed By Our Team And Research Partners Have Been Demonstrated For $804K
Feb 2012Federal contractNASA · Makel Engineering And The Ohio State University Propose To Develop A Harsh Environment Tolerant Gas Sensor Array For Atmospheric Analysis In Future Venus Missions. The Proposed Instrument Will Be Very Compact, Require Low Power, And Ruggedly Packaged To Be Compatible With Balloon A Payload For Atmospheric Composition Analysis. The Goal Is To Provide Information On Local Sox (or Total Sulfur Compounds If A Reactive Filter Is Used), Co, O2, Nox, H2 And/or Water Vapor Concentrations In Order To Com$125K
Jun 2011Federal contractNASA · Makel Engineering And Cornell University Propose To Develop A Galley Architecture Taking Into Account The Design Constraints Of The Space Habitat, Such As Reduced Pressure And Gravity, Minimize Size, Mass, Power And Crew Time, While Producing Food With High Nutritional Value And Enough Variety, Acceptable Taste And Texture Qualities For Long Term Crew Consumption. The Current Design Of The Space Habitat Will Have A Reduced Atmospheric Pressure Of 8 Psia Which Is Equivalent To A 16,000 Foot Mount$600K
Feb 2011Federal contractNASA · Makel Engineering, Inc. (mei) And Penn State University (psu) Propose To Develop A Highly Sensitive Spectrometer Based On Glow Discharge Plasma Emission For The Detection/classification Of Lunar Soil Components Including Minerals And Adsorbed Species (e.g. Water). This Is A Broadly Applicable Technology For Gases, Aerosols, And Solid Samples And Would Complement Technology That Is Already Under Development For Detection Of Toxic Species To Monitor Fire Cleanup Filtration Systems On Spacecraft.$100K
Feb 2011Federal contractNASA · Makel Engineering, Inc. (mei) And The Ohio State University (osu) Propose To Develop High Sensitivity, Miniaturized And In-situ Operated Gas Sensors For The Real Time Monitoring Of Chemical Composition Of Turbine Engine Combustors And/or Exhaust Streams For Real-time, In-flight Propulsion System Measurements To Improve Nasa's Aeronautical Flight Test Capabilities. Gas Microsensor Arrays Developed By Mei, Osu And Our Technical Development Partners Including NASA Have Been Demonstrated For Ground $100K
Feb 2010Federal contractNASA · Makel Engineering, Inc. (mei) And The Pennsylvania State University (penn State) Propose To Develop And Demonstrate A Microchannel Methanation Reactor Based On Nanofabricated Catalysts. Our Innovative Approach Of Combining Microchannel Reactor Technology With Nanofabricated Catalysts Provides The Synergy Between These Two Emerging Technologies With The Potential To Enhance Reaction Efficiency By Orders Of Magnitude. This Improvement In Efficiency Leads To More Compact And Lower Mass Reactor Syst$598K
Jan 2010Federal contractNASA · Removal Of Impurities From Water Has Been Studied Extensively By NASA In The Context Of Water Recovery From Wastewater. However, The Water Recovery System And Urine Processor Assembly Currently Used In The International Space Station Can Only Recover As Much As 90% Of The Water (carter, 2009). Complete Dewatering Is Not Possible For These Technologies Since They Are Not Designed For Handling Solids And Processing Is Stopped Before Precipitates Form. The Only Water Recovery Process That Can Handl$99K
Jan 2010Federal contractNASA · We Propose To Develop Detailed Design Requirements For Adapting Cots Cooking Appliances For Meal Preparation Under Lunar 8 Psia Ambient Conditions, And To Produce One Or More Prototype Devices Required For A Lunar Galley By Modifying Commercial Off The Shelf Consumer Kitchen Appliances To Hold Earth Ambient Pressure Safely In An Oxygen-enriched, 8 Psi Space Habitat. The Modified Devices Will Be Use-tested To Determine Labor Requirements For Selected Food Preparation Tasks In Modified Vs. Unmodif$99K
Jan 2010Federal contractNASA · TAS::80 0123::TAS Makel Engineering, Inc. (mei) And Penn State University (psu) Propose To Develop A Highly Sensitive Spectrometer Based On Glow Discharge Emission For The Detection/classification Of Gas And Aerosol Species In Post-fire Cleanup Scenarios. This Device Would Complement Technology That Is Already Under Development For Intelligent Fire Detection And Would Provide A Robust System To Simultaneously Monitor The Reduction Of Carbon Monoxide And Other Toxic Species By Fire Cleanup Filtra$100K
Mar 2009Federal contractDefense · Makel Engineering Inc SBIR Phase I$100K
Jan 2009Federal contractNASA · Makel Engineering, Inc. (mei) And The Pennsylvania State University (penn State) Propose To Develop And Demonstrate A Microchannel Methanation Reactor Based On Nanofabricated Catalysts. Sustainable/affordable Exploration Of Space Exploration Will Require Minimization Of Re-supply From Earth By Implementation Of In-situ Resources Utilization (isru) Strategies. For Exploration Of The Moon, One Of The Most Significant Resources Is The Lunar Regolith, Which Is A Complex Mix Of Minerals With Large Ox$100K
May 2008Federal contractDefense · Research And Development STTR Ph II Topic N06-T010$500K
May 2008Federal contractNASA · STTR Phase III - Lick And Stick Sensor System Development$1.3M
Apr 2008Federal contractDefense · SBIR Phase II Year 1$843K
Feb 2008Federal contractNASA · Costs Of Technical And Engineering Support Of Hydrogen And Oxygen Sensors.$55K
Feb 2007Federal contractDefense · SBIR Phase I - Basic Effort$100K
Dec 2005Federal contractNASA · In Situ Manufacturing Of Plastics And Composites To Support H&r Explor.$600K
Dec 2005Federal contractNASA · SBIR Phase II: Contract-integrated Microchannel Reformer/hydrogen Purifier For Fuel Cell.$600K

Federal awards are summed by year (66 awards); hover a bar for the split. Form D reports securities sold, which can differ from an announced round; filings are numbered in the order they were made.

Standing among 18 peers

Line = median

Aerospace · Instrument

Federal grants#6 · top 33%

Cumulative measures favor older companies. Rankings describe position today, not outcome. Below the median, ranks show as a band rather than a number.

Founders and team

No founders are linked to this company yet.

Founders appear once a person is matched to the company through its own patents, grants or filings. We never infer people from social profiles.

Checked: USPTO inventors; federal award principal investigators; SEC Form D related persons · Oct 23, 2026

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What it has protected

No granted patents are on record.

USPTO usually publishes applications 18 months after filing, so recent applications may not be visible yet. Patents assigned under a different entity name won’t match.

Checked: USPTO granted patents and published applications · Oct 23, 2026

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OPTERUS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, INCSimilar federal contract value in Aerospace · $22.8M in contracts

Regulatory activity · Aerospace

Sector-level, not company-level

06 Jul 2026Nondiscrimination in Federally Assisted Programs of NASA-Effectuation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964National Aeronautics and Space Administration
01 Jul 2026Special Conditions: AMAC Aerospace, The Boeing Company Model 747- 8 Airplane; Side-Facing SeatsFederal Aviation Administration
26 Jun 2026Standard Instrument Approach Procedures, and Takeoff Minimums and Obstacle Departure Procedures; Miscellaneous AmendmentsFederal Aviation Administration
23 Jun 2026Operating Limitations at John F. Kennedy International AirportFederal Aviation Administration
23 Jun 2026Operating Limitations at New York LaGuardia AirportFederal Aviation Administration
18 Jun 2026Special Conditions: Honeywell Aerospace US LLC, Dassault Aviation Model Falcon 900EX Airplane; Electronic System Security Protection From Unauthorized External AccessFederal Aviation Administration

Rules are matched to sector, not to company. Recent activity in a sector is context rather than a signal about this business — until rules are matched to what a company actually builds, the section is shown as context and nothing more.

Sources

Federal grants from SBIR/STTR, NIH, NSF and DoD records. Federal contracts from USAspending.gov. Private capital from SEC Form D. Patents from USPTO. Publications from OpenAlex. Regulatory activity from the Federal Register. Press matched on company name.

How to read this page

Figures show associations in public records, not causes or predictions. Nothing here is investment advice. An em-dash means no record was found under this company's name, not that none exists.

Data freshness

SEC Form D filings through Oct 23, 2026. SBIR and STTR awards through Oct 21, 2026.