Arkansas - ARKSAT-3: Toward the Development of Technologies and Science Missions for Interplanetary CubeSats Flying in Formation as Active Spectroscopy Instruments

The proposed work is focused on developing the technologies and science missions of Cube Satellites (CubeSat) equipped with active open-path spectroscopy in formation flight, enabling this terrestrial instrument in space free-flight from Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5 at the beginning of the project to achieving TRL 7 at the end of the project. The same technology should also be capable of traditional limb sounding, occultation, and LiDAR measurement. The proposed major project goal is on flight demonstration of the developed technologies in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), proofing the Active SpecTROmeter with Small Satellites (ASTROSS) concept by performing Earth atmosphere measurements with validation using National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) datasets. The ultimate goal is to utilize formations of ASTROSS in interplanetary missions to complement the traditional usage of highly capable and expensive but large spacecraft that can only be at one place at one time, such as missions to Venus, Mars, Titan, and other planetary bodies with atmospheres, aerosols, particles, and/or plumes; with measurement sensitivities approaching in-situ measurement techniques without their associated limitations (i.e. satellite/probes flight profile, size, power, detection speed, and sample collection). A Cube-Sat system, ARKSAT-3, will be developed to flight demonstrate the ASTROSS concept, where a light-emitting ARKSAT-3E (Emitter) is followed by a co-orbiting chaser ARKSAT-3C (Chaser). The ARKSAT-3 provides new satellite remote-sensing measurement capabilities currently non-existent within the state-of-the-art; such as the ability to sample processes related to atmospheric cooling on the ecliptic side of an orbit by using calibrated spectroscopic sources of light-emitting and laser diodes provided by -3E and spectrometers hosted on -3C. The ARKSAT-3 system is uniquely capable of controlling the integration vectors (lengths and direction) for the spectrometers, allowing temporal and spatial resolutions with rapid global coverage during planetary surveys. The ARKSAT-3 project is a research collaboration between 3 Arkansas universities and although UA is the lead institution, all will jointly develop and build CubeSats. UA is tasked with developing the more complex ARKSAT-3C and all the engineering units, while providing expertise to HU and JBU for building their respective flight -3Es. There will be a total of 2 -3Cs (1 flight and 1 engineering model) and 3 -3Es (2 flight and 1 engineering model). NASA Marshall (MSFC) will serve the role of NASA research advisor and providing access to electric thruster test chambers, with the Center Technologist Mr. John Dankanich as the lead contact. In addition, industry will provide collaborative and technical support from 3 in-State entities: BEI Precisions Systems & Space Company (Maumelle, AR), Wolfspeed (Fayetteville, AR location), and Spire Global (represented by Mr. Robert Sproles at Little Rock, AR). These collaborations will help guide the project to success. Ultimately, ARKSAT-3 represents the nascent but rapidly growing NASA-based education, research, and technology development capacity for the State of Arkansas, involving students, researchers, and industry partners.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.