ENABLING TECHNOLOGY FOR SMALL SATELLITE LAUNCH ACCESS TO SPACE FOR SMALL SATELLITES IS ENABLED BY THE USE O…

Public award description

ENABLING TECHNOLOGY FOR SMALL SATELLITE LAUNCH ACCESS TO SPACE FOR SMALL SATELLITES IS ENABLED BY THE USE OF EXCESS LAUNCH CAPACITY ON EXISTING LAUNCH VEHICLES. A RANGE OF SIZES, FORM FACTORS AND MASSES NEED TO BE ACCOMMODATED. AN INTEGRATION PROCESS THAT MINIMIZES PROGRAMMATIC/TECHNICAL RISK TO THE PRIMARY, ALLOWS "LATE FLOW" INTEGRATION AND PREDICTABLE COST/SCHEDULE FOR THE SECONDARY ENABLES REGULAR AND COST-EFFECTIVE ACCESS. THE INTEGRATION PROCESS PROCEEDS SMOOTHLY WHEN THE RIGHT ADAPTERS ACCOMMODATES THE SECONDARY IN A SEAMLESS WAY. DESIGN_NET HAS DEVELOPED AND FLOWN A RIDESHARE ADAPTER (RSA) FOR FALCON CLASS VEHICLES THAT MEETS THESE REQUIREMENTS. WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH UNITED LAUNCH ALLIANCE (ULA) FOR A BROADER CLASS OF RIDESHARE ACCOMMODATIONS, UPGRADES TO CAPABILITY OF THE ESPA AND DEVELOPMENT OF INTERFACES THAT ALLOW LATE ACCESS. BASED ON THIS EXPERIENCE DESIGN_NET WILL CONTINUE, VIA THIS SBIR, TO DEVELOP APPROPRIATE ADAPTERS FOR OTHER TYPES OF SECONDARY PAYLOADS ON OTHER LAUNCH VEHICLES. PHASE 1 WILL SEE PRELIMINARY DESIGN OF ANOTHER ADAPTER FOR INTERMEDIATE SIZE SMALL SATS (LARGER THAN "CUBESATS" BUT SMALLER THAN ESPA) FOR A SELECTED LAUNCH VEHICLE. DURING PHASE 2 WE WILL DEVELOP AND QUALIFY THE SELECTED ADAPTER DESIGN TO TRL 8.