Advanced Transfer and Relay Stage

In response to the 2024 NASA SBIR Phase I solicitation subtopic Z8.09, “Small Spacecraft Transfer Stage Development,” Advanced Space, LLC proposes to develop mission architectures and requirements for customizing a low-cost rocket transfer stage that will deliver small spacecraft to nontraditional orbits and provide position, navigation, timing (PNT) and communications relay services for the deployed small spacecraft. The proposed solution defines a set of modular mission architectures and concepts of operations (ConOps) that match launch vehicle and transfer stage capabilities to the deployment of a primary payload in its destination orbit. The proposed solution will result in a mission-planning system that defines the required capabilities of the transfer stage to satisfy any given design reference mission (DRM). Mission destinations to cislunar space impose cumbersome propulsion, navigation, and communication requirements on small spacecraft. Propulsion to reach the destination orbit, longer communication distances, and lack of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are significant contributors to increased spacecraft size, weight, power, and cost (SWAP-C). These hindrances drive the need to develop services that facilitate operating small spacecraft in these unique mission destinations. Previous awardees of this subtopic have designed transfer stage platforms to provide small spacecraft enough energy to reach cislunar space, lunar orbit, and beyond, but have not yet exploited the possibility of using the same hardware to provide needed communications and navigation services for these SWAP-limited missions as they embark on journeys to increasingly distant destinations. Any relief of these needs for small spacecraft will contribute to increasing the scientific or commercial return of the primary mission.