VISTA PHOTONICS, INC

Aerospace · Private

Compact infrared laser-based optical sensors for airborne measurement of atmospheric CO2 and water vapor

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Updated Oct 23, 2026 · vistaphotonics.com

Sector: Aerospace
Total capital: $29.4M

Federal grants: $785K; 5 awards · 2008–2015; Rank in peer group#19 of 77
Private capital raised: None on recordNo Form D filings on SEC EDGAR. Some raises are not filed.
Federal contracts: $28.6M; 46 awards · NASA, Defense, Environmental Prot; Rank in Aerospace#120 of 1335
Granted patents: None on recordNo USPTO grants. Applications publish after 18 months.

Capital timeline

Latest events

Jun 2025Federal contractNASA · SBIR Phase III - Manufacture And Delivery Of Habitation And Logistics Outpost (halo) Primary Constituent Monitor (pcm)$2.1M
May 2025Federal contractNASA · Vista Photonics To Procure Lasers And Photodiodes For Primary Constituent Monitor Design$132K
Nov 2024Federal contractNASA · SBIR Phase III - Manufacture And Delivery Of Compact, Battery Powered, Optical Sensor Flight Units For Detecting Combustion Products And Ammonia, Known As The Anomaly Gas$2.5M
Oct 2024Federal contractNASA · Manufacture And Testing Of A Breadboard Version Of The Primary Constituents Monitor (pcm) Design For Hardware Risk Mitigation$248K
Jun 2024Federal contractNASA · Phase III - Multi-gas Sensor Updates For Xemu$7.7M
Jun 2021Federal contractNASA · Next-generation Laser Combustion Product Gas Monitors And Optical Formaldehyde Sensor Development$294K
May 2020Federal contractNASA · Tunable Diode Laser Gas Monitors And Supporting Data Analysis For The Saffire Spacecraft Large Fire Demo Experiment$85K

Show 44 earlier federal awards

Sep 2019Federal contractDefense · Research And Development$1.0M
Jun 2019Federal contractNASA · Compact, Battery Powered, Optical Sensor Flight Units For Detecting Combustion Products, Hydrazine, And Ammonia Known As The Anomaly Gas Analyzer.$3M
Jul 2018Federal contractDefense · Igf::ot::igf SBIR Ph I$225K
Oct 2017Federal contractNASA · SBIR Phase III Design, Manufacture, And Delivery Of Compact, Battery Powered, Optical Sensor Engineering Design Units (edus) For Detecting Combustion Products, Hydrazine, And Ammonia Known As The Anomaly Gas Analyzer (aga)$1.9M
Sep 2017Federal contractNASA · SBIR Phase III Development Of An Advanced Emu Tunable Diode Laser Carbon Dioxide Sensor$471K
May 2017Federal contractNASA · Igf::ot::igf Execute Mission Integration And Operation Services In Support Of The Flight Experiment Entitled:"angiex Cancer Therapy".$260K
Sep 2016Federal contractNASA · SBIR Phase III- Vista Task 1 - Develop Sample Acquisition Method. Test Sample Acquisition Hardware And Deliver Report According To Statement Of Work. Task 2 - Determine Factors Affecting Battery Life For Several Continuous Operating Modes. Measure Battery Life With Electronics Capable Of Supporting N2H4 And NH3 Sensors. Deliver Report Of Battery Life Findings. Task 3 - Design And Build A Self-contained Prototype According To Statement Of Work. Deliver Prototype Along With Report Summarizing Perf$177K
Aug 2016Federal contractNASA · Vista Photonics$610K
Jul 2016Federal contractNASA · Semiconductor Laser Spectrometer$746K
Feb 2016Federal contractEnvironmental Prot · Igf::ot::igf Fund 2016 SBIR Phase II New Award - Vista Photonics, Inc. - Inexpensive High Performance Continuous Ammonia Monitor$300K
Dec 2015Federal contractNASA · SBIR Phase III. Development Of Low Power Laser-based Contaminant Monitors For Spacecraft Tasks 1,2,3,4.$179K
Sep 2015Federal contractNASA · Igf::ot::igf Gas Sensing In A Space Environment Is Difficult. Commercial Off The Shelf Cots Devices Are Not Qualified To Measure Multiple Gas Constituents In Various Space Platforms. This Project Proposes To Execute An SBIR Phase III In Partnership With The Recipient To Evaluate And Mature A High Performance Infrared Laser Sensor Technology For Three Distinct, But Related Prototype Gas Sensing Architectures. The Technical Approach Combines The Proven High Performance Of Wavelength Modulation Spe$848K
Jun 2015Federal grantNASA · Phase I · Real-Time Airborne Infra-Red Carbon Dioxide Analyzer$125K
Mar 2015Federal contractNASA · Testing Of Low Power Optical Sensor Architectures For A Spacecraft Combustion Product Monitor Tasks 10,11,12$99K
May 2014Federal contractEnvironmental Prot · Igf::ot::igf Inexpensive High Performance Continuous Ammonia Monitor$100K
Apr 2014Federal contractNASA · Igf::ot::igf Development Of A Highly Reliable, Interference And Drift Free Combustion Product Monitor (cpm)$199K
Feb 2014Federal contractNASA · Sensor To Be Installed That Will Result In A Funstional Multi-gas Monitor.$10K
Apr 2013Federal contractNASA · Igf::ot::igf Laser Diode (ld) Spectrometers That Monitor Major Constituents Of The Spacecraft Cabin Atmosphere Have Been Developed As Part Of A Phase II SBIR With Vista Photonics, Inc. And A Follow On Phase III Effort. The Phase II Contract (NNX10RA08C) Began In December 2009 And Ended In June 2011. At The End Of This Project, Vista Photonics, Inc. Delivered To NASA Glenn Research Center (grc) Two Instruments That Use Tunable Vertical Cavity Surface-emitting Lasers (vcsels) To Monitor O2, CO2, A$172K
Nov 2012Federal contractDefense · SBIR Phase I Topic N122-120$80K
Aug 2012Federal contractNASA · Vista Photonics Gas Sensor For Advanced Portable Life Support System$44K
Aug 2012Federal contractNASA · Background And Significance Highly Reactive Acid Gas Species Are Critical Early Indicators Of Fire Onboard Spacecraft. Indeed, Along With Hydrogen Cyanide And Carbon Monoxide, They Constitute The Present Suite Of Determinative Combustion Products For Reliable, Accurate, Event Detection. Yet These Species Are Notoriously Difficult To Detect When Applying Traditional Optical Sensing Techniques To These Unique Monitoring Applications. Due To Their Reactivity, Techniques Employing Even Modest Amount$45K
Jun 2011Federal grantAgriculture · Isotope Ratiometer For Groundwater Analysis$100K
May 2011Federal contractNASA · Compact Optical Carbon Dioxide Monitor For The Advanced Portable Life Support System The Function Of The PPCO2 Sensors Used In The Current Extravehicular Activity (eva) Space Suit Is To Measure And Report The Concentration Of Carbon Dioxide In The Ventilation Loop. The Next Generation Of Suits Requires Next Generation CO2 Sensing Technology With Performance Beyond That Presently In Use In /on The Shuttle/international Space Station Extravehicular Mobility Unit. Accommodation Within Space Suits D$150K
Apr 2011Federal contractNASA · Development Of An Optical Life Gas Analyzer (olga)$50K
Feb 2011Federal contractNASA · Volcanic Research Is A Significant Part Of The "earth Surface&interior" Focus Area Of The NASA Earth Science Program. After A Volcanic Eruption, The Smallest Ash Particles Can Remain In The Atmosphere For Days To Months Affecting Public Health In The Surrounding Regions And The Radiation Balance On Earth. Airborne Volcanic Ash Particulate Matter (pm) Also Poses A Major Threat To Aviation And Would Therefore Be Essential To Distinguish And Identify By Remote Sensing And In Situ Techniques. Vista $100K
Feb 2011Federal contractNASA · Volcanic Research Is A Significant Part Of The "earth Surface&interior" Focus Area Of The NASA Earth Science Program. Of Particular Interest Are Sensors For Measuring The Chemical Composition And Emission Rate Of Gases Released By Volcanoes, From Magma To The Atmosphere, Both Prior To And During Eruptions. The Vast Majority Of Ground Based Plume Observations Concern Sulfur Dioxide (SO2), The Third Most Abundant Volcanic Gas. Sulfur Dioxide Measurements Provide Valuable Information Concerning The$100K
Sep 2010Federal grantAgriculture · Optical Ethylene Analyzer For Food Crop Quality Assurance$400K
Jan 2010Federal contractNASA · This Project Targets The Development Of A Highly Sensitive Gas Sensor To Monitor Atmospheric Nitrous Oxide. Nitrous Oxide Is An Important Species In Earth Science Research. It Is One Of The Four Principal Greenhouse Gases That Result From Human Activities. It Is The Primary Source Gas For Nitrogen Oxides In The Stratosphere, A Useful Dynamical Tracer And A Powerful Greenhouse Gas. It Is The Only Long-lived Atmospheric Tracer Of Human Perturbations Of The Global Nitrogen Cycle. Atmospheric Mixing$100K
Jan 2010Federal contractNASA · Studying The Isotopic Composition Of Materials Is An Established Method To Obtain Detailed Insight Into Formation And Evolution Processes In Our Universe. Water May Play A Dominant Role In Unraveling These Processes. Isotope Hydrology Applied In Situ On The Moon And Other Planets Might Develop Into The Key Method To Understand The History Of Our Solar System. The Moon Provides Unique Opportunities To Study Trapped Volatile Compounds, Like Water, Due To The Special Conditions At Its Poles. These $740K
Dec 2009Federal contractNASA · TAS::80 0123::TAS New Sensor Technology Is Required To Face The Challenging Tasks Associated With Future Space Exploration Involving Missions To The Moon And Mars. The Safety And Well-being Of The Crew Critically Depends On Early Detection Of Threats As Well As Maintaining Stable And Acceptable Conditions In The Crew Habitat. Prototype Sensor Technology Being Developed On This Project Addresses Both Aspects. Carbon Monoxide Formation Is A Reliable Indicator Of Evolving Fire Threats And This Gas$600K
Jun 2009Federal contractNASA · SBIR - Phase III$89K
Feb 2009Federal contractNASA · Airborne Isotopic Hydrocarbon Analyzer For Titan Trace Species Measurement On Unmanned Atmospheric Research Craft Suitable For Interplanetary Travel Is A Demanding Application For Optical Sensing Techniques. Yet Optical Techniques Offer Many Advantages Including High-precision, Fast Response, And Strong Species Selectivity. Balloonsonde, Kite, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Or Glider Deployment Demands That Optical Sensors Meet Stringent Size, Weight And Power Requirements. Vista Photonics Propo$650K
Jan 2009Federal contractNASA · In Situ Water Isotope Analyzer For Moon Exploration Studying The Isotopic Composition Of Materials Is An Established Method To Obtain Detailed Insight Into Formation And Evolution Processes In Our Universe. Water May Play A Dominant Role In Unraveling These Processes. Isotope Hydrology Applied In Situ On The Moon And Other Planets Might Develop Into The Key Method To Understand The History Of Our Solar System. The Moon Provides Unique Opportunities To Study Trapped Volatile Compounds, Like Wat$100K
Jan 2009Federal contractNASA · In Situ Aerosol Detector NASA Is Developing New Platform Systems That Have The Potential To Benefit Earth Science Research Activities, Which Include In Situ Instruments For Atmospheric Measurements For Use On Radiosondes, Dropsondes, Tethered Balloons, Kites, And Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (uavs). Aerosols Influence Global Climate And Human Health And Can Affect Local And Regional Weather Processes. Despite Of Their Importance, Aerosols Are The Least-understood Components Of The Climate System. T$100K
Jan 2009Federal contractNASA · The Well-being Of The Crew On Manned Missions Depends Critical On The Composition Of The Habitat Air. Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide And Water Vapor Are The Most Important Air Constituents That Have To Be Monitored Continuously. Optical Monitoring With Its Features Of High Precision, Strong Species Selectivity And Fast Response Is The Preferred Method If Lightweight, Small And Low Power-draw Instrumentation Can Be Developed. Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (vcsels) Are Now Available Covering A B$100K
Jan 2009Federal contractNASA · Compact Optical Carbon Dioxide Monitor For Eva Breath Respiratory Species Measurement During Extravehicular Activity (eva) Or Intravehicular Activity (iva) Is A Demanding Application For Optical Sensing Techniques. Yet Optical Techniques Offer Many Advantages Including High-precision, Fast Response, And Strong Species Selectivity. Accommodation Within Spacesuits Demands That Optical Sensors Meet Stringent Size, Weight And Power Requirements. The Next Generation Of Emerging NASA Constellation Sp$600K
Jan 2009Federal contractNASA · Environmental Species Measurement On Airborne Atmospheric Research Craft Is A Demanding Application For Optical Sensing Techniques. Yet Optical Techniques Offer Many Advantages Including High-precision, Fast Response, And High Species Selectivity. Balloonsonde, Kite, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), Or Glider Deployment Demands That Sensors Meet Stringent Size, Weight And Power Requirements. Few Measurements Are As Important, And None Have Entered Into The Public Consciousness, Like The Need To Qu$600K
Jun 2008Federal grantAgriculture · Optical Ethylene Analyzer For Food Crop Quality Assurance$80K
May 2008Federal grantAgriculture · Isotope Ratiometer For Groundwater Analysis$80K
Feb 2008Federal contractNASA · Compact Optical Carbon Dioxide Monitor For Eva$100K
Feb 2008Federal contractNASA · Advanced Fire Detector For Space Applications$100K
Feb 2008Federal contractNASA · Airborne Isotopic Hydrocarbon Analyzer For Titan$100K
Jan 2008Federal contractNASA · High-performance Airborne Optical Carbon Dioxide Analyzer$100K
Nov 2005Federal contractNASA · SBIR Phase II - High Performance Contaminant Monitor For Spacecraft. The Vision For Space Exploration Demands Increasing Reliance On Real-time Trace Gas Monitors Onboard Spacecraft. Present Grab Samples And Badges Will Be Inadequate Beyond Low-earth-orbit. New Better Monitors Will Be Critical Components For Early Detection Of Fire, Release Event Monitoring, Crew Habitability And Air Revitalization Processes. The Danger From Fire And Toxic Releases Aboard Spacecraft Is Constant With Only Mome$600K

Federal awards are summed by year (51 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 77 peers

Line = median

Aerospace · Device

Federal grants#19 · top 25%

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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VEXTEC CorporationSimilar federal contract value in Aerospace · $28.4M in contracts
PHYSICS, MATERIALS, AND APPLIED MATHEMATICS RESEARCH L.L.C.Similar federal contract value in Aerospace · $28.2M in contracts
Faraday Technology, Inc.Similar federal contract value in Aerospace · $27.6M 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.