NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES
NASA Flight Opportunities A Decade of Technology Maturation Through NASA’s Flight Opportunities Program
John Kelly | Space Portal Office - Commercial Space Lecture Series | August 2020 w w w.nasa.gov NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES
Agenda
• Flight Opportunities mission and scope • Technology portfolio overview • Opportunity: Tech Flights solicitation • Acquisition of commercial services • Transition successes
2 NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES
Credit: Earth Science Systems Flight Opportunities Mission
The Flight Opportunities program facilitates rapid demonstration of Credit: Blue Origin promising technologies for space exploration, discovery, and the expansion of space commerce through suborbital testing with industry flight providers.
Credit: Blue Origin Credit: World View Enterprises Credit: Kevin Crosby, Carthage College 3 NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES
Why fly in suborbital environments?
Evaluate performance in harsh conditions of space that are difficult to replicate in ground-based testing
Obtain data to increase technology readiness level (TRL) and gain more assurance of success for future missions
Refine experiment to reduce risk for orbital missions (CubeSat, International Space Station, lunar mission, etc.)
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Suborbital flights – a step on the way to orbit
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Flight Opportunities by the Numbers
BETWEEN 2011 AND TODAY*… Supported 193 successful flights Enabled 689 tests of payloads 262 technologies in the portfolio 12 active commercial providers
Approximately 1/3 of technologies flown with Flight Opportunities have progressed to higher levels of testing and transition.
6 *As of June 30, 2020 NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES
Portfolio Build Up Since Program Inception
June
FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15 FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21
SUBORBITAL PAYLOAD SOLICITATION & FLIGHT ACTIVITY INTERNAL 4 4
SUBORBITAL FLIGHT ACTIVITY ONLY SLPSRA 1 1
RIDESHARE 2 1
NTRNL 7 2
TECH FLIGHTS 84 45
USIP 6 ✓
GCD A&E 25 2
AFO 98 5
DIRECTED 32 5
259 TOTAL 65 ACTIVE
162 COMPLETED 1 ON-HOLD 31 WITHDRAWN NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES
Opportunity: Tech Flights Solicitation
• The Technology Advancement Utilizing Suborbital Flight Opportunities solicitation (“Tech Flights”) is an appendix to NASA’s SpaceTech REDDI research announcement • Awards and agreements for flight tests are open to researchers from industry, academia, and non-profit research institutes • Awardees select a flight provider of their choice and work directly with this provider • Tech Flights 2020 Topics • Supporting Sustainable Lunar Exploration and the Expansion of Economic Activity into Cislunar Space • Fostering the Commercialization of Low-Earth Orbit and Utilization of Suborbital Space • Tech Flights 2020 Solicitation
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Portfolio Build Up Since Program Inception
Educational Non-profit 1% 3% Research Institute # awards Organization 9% 16 NASA Ames Research Center Academia 14 NASA JPL 42% 12 University of Central Florida 11 Purdue University 10 Johns Hopkins University Government PI 8 NASA Glenn Research Center, University of Florida 26% 6 Carthage College, Draper Labs, NASA JSC, University of Maryland Affiliation 5 AFRL - Kirtland, MIT, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center 4 NASA KSC, SwRI 3 14 organizations 2 16 organizations 1 59 organizations 259
Commercial 19%
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Portfolio Build Up Since Program Inception
Parabolic aircraft flight includes: Balloons - Zero Gravity Corporation 14% - NASA C9
SB Rocket-powered vehicles includes: 1% Parabolic Flight - Blue Origin 43% - EXOS Aerospace - Masten Space Platform - UP Aerospace Type - Virgin Galactic Rocket-powered - NASA Wallops vehiclessRLV Requested 37% Balloons includes: - Angstrom Designs - BlackSky Aerospace SP - Near Space Corporation 5% - Raven Aerostar - Stratodynamics - World View
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Learn by Doing The Evolution of Suborbital Flight Testing Flight Opportunities experiments flew on early suborbital flights
Early Flights Recent Flights • Fluid requirements, • Well-defined requirements, documentation, hardware documentation, hardware • Ad-hoc review process • Formalized review process • Unestablished rules and • Well-established rules and limitations limitations • Limited infrastructure at • Continual improvements in spaceports: tabletops, power facilities strips, dirt roads
We are still learning….
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History of Acquisition of Commercial Services
• Flight Opportunities has conducted 3 distinct calls for suborbital flight services • The needs and players have evolved over time. • Currently have 4 active providers on contract to provide flights from payloads that come from inside NASA • Blue Origin • Raven Aerostar • UP Aerospace • World View Enterprises
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CLPS Providers Leveraged Suborbital Tests
Four companies selected as Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CPLS) providers leveraged Flight Opportunities-supported suborbital flights to test technologies that are incorporated into their landers.
Draper Masten Space Systems Astrobotic Blue Origin
Credit: Draper Credit: Masten Space Systems Credit: Astrobotic Credit: Blue Origin
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HLS Teams Have Strong Suborbital Heritage
Two of the three teams selected by NASA to develop human landing systems (HLS) for the Artemis program include companies that have served as flight providers or tested technologies through Flight Opportunities.
Draper is part of Dynetics-led team Blue Origin-led team includes Draper
Credit: Draper Credit: Blue Origin
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Space-Based Additive Manufacturing Made In Space, Inc.
What It Is The Additive Manufacturing Facility is a commercial manufacturing platform designed to print 3D parts in microgravity.
Why It Matters Manufacturing of critical components in space can reduce operational costs and improve on-site repair capabilities for long-duration human exploration missions.
Transition Outcomes In 2016, the Additive Manufacturing Facility went into service on the Photo credits: Made In Space International Space Station, where it has produced over 200 tools, (above), NASA (left) assets, and parts.
FLIGHT TEST MILESTONES • Proved the ability to use additive manufacturing to produce parts in microgravity FLIGHT PROVIDER • Identified operational challenges during initial suborbital test that were • NASA addressed through technology development and validated in additional suborbital flight prior to deployment to the International Space Station
15 TX12: Materials, Structures, Mechanical Systems, and Manufacturing NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES
Autonomous Flight Termination System (AFTS) NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
What It Is AFTS is a subsystem that allows a rocket to independently determine if it is off course and, if necessary, self-destruct. It uses configurable software- based rules implemented on redundant flight processors using data from redundant GPS/inertial measurement unit (IMU) navigation sensors.
Why It Matters Off-course rockets can place people and property in danger. AFTS eliminates many of the time-consuming and costly measures historically taken to monitor launches and issue destruction commands, such as ground personnel, transmitters, telemetry receivers, and radar.
Transition Outcomes AFTS has been transferred to at least 35 recipients, including Dept. of Defense agencies and industry, including Rocket Lab and SpaceX, and Photo credits: NASA (left), UP Aerospace (right) is the focus of a NASA collaboration with the Italian Space Agency.
FLIGHT TEST MILESTONES FLIGHT PROVIDER • Obtained data about GPS • Advanced technical readiness to • UP Aerospace receiver performance that led to TRL 9 critical design modifications
TX10: Autonomous Systems NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES
Landing Technology for Mars Perseverance NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
What It Is The Lander Vision System (LVS) is a terrain-relative navigation (TRN)- based system that photographs the terrain beneath a descending spacecraft and matches it with onboard maps to determine vehicle location. Two elements of TRN were tested via Flight Opportunities: Guidance for Fuel Optimal Large Divert (G-FOLD) algorithm and the Fuel Optimal and Accurate Landing System (FOALS). Why It Matters
Some of the most interesting places to explore on Mars lie in tricky terrain. Photo credit: NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Until now, many of these potential landing sites have been off-limits. For past Mars missions, 99% of the potential landing area had to be free of hazardous slopes and rocks to help ensure a safe landing. FLIGHT PROVIDER Transition Outcomes • Masten Space Systems TRN technologies tested by Flight Opportunities are part of LVS on the Mars 2020 Perseverance robotic lander mission. The technologies also have applications for many other missions and have been incorporated into prospective lunar lander guidance systems.
FLIGHT TEST MILESTONES • Collected sensor performance data to ensure accurate performance • Confirmed integration and communication of the systems with the landing vehicle
17 TX17: Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GN&C) NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES
Astrobotic Auto-landing System Astrobotic Technology
What It Is Astrobotic’s auto-landing system, including terrain relative navigation (TRN), is a complete solution when GPS cannot be used. It is designed to achieve higher precision, lower cost, and easier mission integration.
Why It Matters Current robotic exploration missions target large areas of statistically safe terrain—not precise enough for future NASA and commercial ambitions that require arrival at specific targets. The auto-landing system is designed to deliver payload to within 100 meters of a chosen destination while autonomously avoiding hazards.
Transition Outcomes Astrobotic’s TRN was further matured via a NASA Tipping Point award and will fly on Astrobotic’s first trip to the Moon in 2021. The company will also deliver its Griffin rover to the lunar surface in 2023 as part of NASA's Volatiles Investigating Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission. Image credit: Astrobotic Technology, Inc. (left), Masten Space Systems (right)
FLIGHT PROVIDER FLIGHT TEST MILESTONES • Masten Space Systems • Accurate detection of hazards larger than 25 cm • Successful closed-loop flight test, resulting in navigation to a safe landing location, including avoidance of mock hazards
18 TX10: Autonomous Systems NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES
Terrain Relative Navigation System Draper
What It Is Draper’s terrain relative navigation system provides precise vehicle navigation relative to a planetary body where GPS or ground updates are not readily available, improving a lander’s knowledge of where it is and where there is a safe place to touch down.
Why It Matters While the algorithms for terrain relative navigation have been tested in terrestrial applications for years, space-rated systems are limited. Systems like Draper’s fill this need.
Transition Outcomes Draper’s terrain relative navigation development and testing is continuing as part of NASA’s Safe and Precise Landing – Integrated Capabilities Evolution (SPLICE) project to develop an integrated suite of landing and hazard avoidance capabilities for planetary missions Photo credit: NASA
FLIGHT TEST MILESTONES FLIGHT PROVIDERS • Tested entry, descent, and landing capabilities at various altitudes/flight conditions • Masten Space Systems • Tested algorithms on a vehicle and flight profile similar to future landing missions • World View Enterprises (Draper multi-environment navigator) • Successfully identified and tracked more than 50 land features during flight
19 TX09: Entry, Descent, and Landing NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES
PlanetVac Honeybee Robotics
What It Is This pneumatic device attaches to the leg of a lander vehicle and enables fast, simple, and reliable collection of regolith for analysis.
Why It Matters The technology addresses one of the most difficult and important tasks for planetary exploration: collection of surface samples on the Moon, planets, asteroids, and other celestial bodies.
Transition Outcomes Selected in 2019 as a payload that will be used on a lander being developed under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services contracts and infused into a JAXA MMX mission, where it will capture regolith from the surface of Phobos.
FLIGHT TEST MILESTONES Photo credit: Honeybee Robotics • Tested in the Mojave Desert in a • Established device’s ability to simulated landing, performing quickly and efficiently collect FLIGHT PROVIDER exactly as planned samples • Masten Space Systems • Successfully collected more than 300 grams of simulated regolith
20 TX04: Robotic Systems NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES
Radio Frequency Mass Gauge (RFMG) NASA’s Glenn Research Center
What It Is This technique accurately determines the amount of cryogenic propellant in a tank while in low gravity or where sloshing is an issue.
Why It Matters Propellant-quantity gauging is critical for space vehicles. The limitations of prior techniques required carrying additional propellant to cover uncertainty margin. This technology’s capabilities could benefit future exploration vehicles, such as a launch system with a cryogenic propulsion stage or a space-based propellant depot.
Transition Outcomes Flying aboard the International Space Station, RFMG provided daily measurements for the Robotic Refueling Mission 3, revealing significant changes resulting from various maneuvers and payload tests.
Photo credit: NASA FLIGHT TEST MILESTONES
• Eight parabolic flights over two months allowed researchers to collect data on FLIGHT PROVIDER tanks filled between 6% and 65% full. • The ability to test multiple fluid levels gave researchers confidence that the • Zero Gravity Corporation gauge would perform well at any fill level. • Flight data led to novel ideas that were used to improve the gauging algorithm.
21 TX01: Propulsion Systems NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES
Radial Core Heat Spreader (RCHS) NASA’s Glenn Research Center
What It Is This passive thermal control system uses a wick capillary mechanism to provide orders-of-magnitude improvement in thermal-to-electric power conversion efficiency and thermal conductance.
Why It Matters Electrical power requirements for future NASA planetary science and human exploration missions call for long-life nuclear power systems. Such systems typically convert nuclear heat to electricity using solid-state thermoelectric conversion. RCHS’s improvement in conversion efficiency would enable a dramatic decrease in mass over current methods with similar thermal performance.
Transition Outcomes RCHS has been infused into the Nuclear Fission Project, an effort to develop an affordable fission nuclear power system that could enable long-duration stays on planetary surfaces and power human outposts. Image credit: NASA
FLIGHT TEST MILESTONES FLIGHT PROVIDERS • Tested best- and worst-case • Verified thermal performance • Zero Gravity Corporation configurations for future spacecraft throughout launch and in a longer • NASA duration microgravity environment
22 TX03: Aerospace Power and Energy Storage NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES
Structural Health Monitoring for Space Vehicles New Mexico Tech
What It Is This unobtrusive sensor suite is designed to provide an integral part of a spacecraft’s black box, gathering and storing data on its structural integrity at all stages of spaceflight.
Why It Matters The technology may play a prominent role in space vehicle safety assessment, pre-launch diagnostics, and certification.
Transition Outcomes Selected in 2019 for NASA’s Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) to evaluate long-term exposure to space
FLIGHT TEST MILESTONES Photo credit: Near Space Corporation • Measured structural sound speed for • Wirelessly collected strain and the first time in space temperature data FLIGHT PROVIDERS • Identified importance of temperature • Provided insight into the use of off- • UP Aerospace compensation in structural the-shelf sensors in near-space monitoring environments • Near Space Corporation
23 TX08: Sensors and Instruments NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES
Telemetric Biological Imaging University of Florida
What It Is This hardware enables fluorescent imaging of the biological response of plants to gravity change.
Why It Matters The technology may be leveraged for studies to help understand how humans and other organisms adapt to spaceflight on the cellular level. Suborbital flights have highlighted unexpected responses.
Transition Outcomes Received a NASA ROSBio award in 2019 for a collaborative biological study with the University of Wisconsin to further examine calcium signaling during transitions in microgravity. Photo credit: University of Florida
FLIGHT TEST MILESTONES • Verified operation of the entire • Led to further scientific inquiry imaging suite during flight regarding calcium signaling with FLIGHT PROVIDERS • Discovered that gene expression implications for human biological • Zero Gravity Corporation studies changes begin very quickly in • Blue Origin microgravity • Virgin Galactic
24 TX08: Sensors and Instruments NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES
Flight Opportunities Benefits to Flight Providers
Flight Opportunities has been instrumental in helping Masten The technologies funded by Flight grow its business. Having a contract with NASA Flight Opportunities are helping us to Opportunities was essential in helping the company secure expand our commercial offerings. As funding from investors. In addition, the technology development a result of the work being done with work Masten did to support Flight Opportunities payloads helped Johns Hopkins University Applied the company expand its capabilities, which in turn has allowed Physics Laboratory, we will soon Masten to bid on and win additional government contracts. offer a new interface option with --Sean Mahoney, chief executive officer, Masten Space Systems direct space exposure, which is of interest to a variety of other customers.... The market development that is happening because of Flight Opportunities is Near Space Corporation has benefited greatly from being resulting in business growth for our associated with NASA’s Flight Opportunities program. We company. have been providing similar flight test services to payload --Erika Wagner, payload sales providers for more than 20 years, but the standardized director, Blue Origin structure of Flight Opportunities helps streamline the procurement process and facilitates the establishment of mission requirements and the services needed to meet them. --Tim Lachenmeier, president/ chief executive officer, Near Space Corporation 25 NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES
Thank you!
John Kelly Program Manager, Flight Opportunities
661.276.2308 [email protected]
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