It depends. NASA will file a notice of intent to grant an exclusive or partial license - you can see the notices here[1]. In this case it seems the patent is s

It depends. NASA will file a notice of intent to grant an exclusive or partial license - you can see the notices here[1]. In this case it seems the patent is still available for anyone to license[2]. They have special licensing terms for startups that are pretty favorable[3]. 1: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/search?conditions%5Bagencies%5D%5B%5D=national-aeronautics-and-space-administration&conditions%5Bterm%5D=patent&conditions%5Btype%5D%5B%5D=NOTICE https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/search?conditions%... 2: https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/LEW-TOPS-99 https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/LEW-TOPS-99 3: https://technology.nasa.gov/startup https://technology.nasa.gov/startup