NLV Upper Stage Development and Flight Testing

The technical innovation proposed here is the design during Phase I of a high performance upper stage for a two-stage "20 / 450" Nanosat Launch Vehicle (NLV) that is configured to deliver up to 20 kg to a 450 km low Earth orbit (Figure 1). Parallel tasks prepare for the Phase II development and sub-orbital flight testing of a prototype vehicle that is directly traceable to the orbital-capable NLV. Furthermore, by teaming with the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Space Corporation to pathfind the concept of operations at the latter's Kodiak Space Launch complex, we are taking a key step towards establishing dedicated launch access to polar orbits for the cubesat and nanosat communities.