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.) 4 NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES Suborbital flights – a step on the way to orbit 5 NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES 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7 2 TECH FLIGHTS 84 45 USIP 6 ✓ GCD A&E 25 2 AFO 98 5 DIRECTED 32 5 259 TOTAL 65 ACTIVE 162 COMPLETED 1 ON-HOLD 31 WITHDRAWN NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES Opportunity: Tech Flights Solicitation • The Technology Advancement Utilizing Suborbital Flight Opportunities solicitation (“Tech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 8 NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES 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% 9 NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES 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 10 NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES 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…. 11 NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES 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 12 NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES 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 13 NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES 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 14 NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES 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