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Completed TRL 4 (started at 2, targeting 4)
This effort advances the TRL level of both the ORCAS (Orbiting Configurable Artificial Star) laser payload, and its spacecraft architecture, as a preparation for a technology demonstration flight. This is in support of the successful effort from last year’s IRAD, building on the successful commissioning of the diffraction limited camera at Keck, the successfully commissioned August 2022 solar observations with a natural guide star at DKIST, and the science time allocation guaranteed by both observatories that position us to better advance this mission concept. IRAD support will lead to funding proposals, including for spacecraft, instrument development and ultimately a flight mission.
ORCAS has the goal to establish the feasibility of imaging solar corona for <0.1 arcsec resolution from the ground using a point source in space. Both Heliophysics and Astrophysics would benefit from this advancement (and will be demonstrated by telescopes serving both communities). In short, it will allow us to advance a new generation of "hybrid observatories" where space and ground assets are used in combination to achieve capabilities beyond what they can do individually, at lower cost, higher operational flexibility, and shorter timescales. Leveraging GTOSat’s spacecraft mode management scheme and flight software as well as updated and tested using NASA GSFC 42 Monte Carlo runs for orbital dynamics and the NASA Operational Simulator for Small Satellites (NOS3) to verify the flight software and fault detection and correction on-board. Both tools were heavily leveraged for GTOSat and would only require minimal updates for a new mission in a similar orbit instead of having to develop and implement the processes from scratch.
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This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.
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