Demonstration of On-Orbit Logistics System

"The lifetime of many space systems critical to missile defense is limited by the availability of on-board expendable resources, such as cryogenic fluids and fuels. As these systems become more complex and expensive, the ability to extend the capacity ofon-board cryogenics becomes a key driver of total life cycle cost and effectiveness. AeroAstro will develop an end-to-end architecture for fluid replenishment missions. A number of companies are addressing the rendezvous, docking, and fuel transferphases of the mission, but currently the rapid launch and orbit transfer phases of the mission are not being pursued. AeroAstro will address these two critical phases by leveraging experience with two existing commercial projects, Escort and SPORT.Escort is an on-orbit inspection and servicing microsatellite for commercial use. SPORT (Small Payload ORbit Transfer vehicle) is an orbit transfer vehicle designed to deliver microsatellites from GTO to customized low earth orbits on piggyback launches.A complete end-to-end system architecture will be developed and designed in Phase I, along with a roadmap to identify all steps required to commercialize this technology and build a demonstration unit for launch on the Space Shuttle in Phase II. There area number of military and commercial applications that can be enabled by an on-orbit refueling/servicing microspacecraft. The military applications that stand to benefit include SBIRS Low, Space