Aerocapture Demonstration (ARRIVAL)

Aerocapture is a maneuver that uses the aerodynamic forces generated during an atmospheric pass to decelerate an entry vehicle and deliver an orbiter into an elliptical orbit from an interplanetary trajectory. As the entry vehicle approaches the planet, its cruise stage directs it on a path towards the planet's atmosphere. The entry vehicle is comprised of an aeroshell with thermal protection system that houses the orbiter and its science payload. Once the entry vehicle is on its path to the intended atmospheric entry conditions, the cruise stage is jettisoned, and the entry vehicle continues under its own control. After reaching the atmospheric interface point, the aerodynamic lift and drag forces acting on the entry vehicle begin to build and are used to continually maintain the vehicle's path along a specified trajectory through the atmosphere. The trajectory is designed to dissipate a specific amount of energy and reduce the vehicle's velocity for the targeted science orbit. The entry vehicle exits the atmosphere, and the aeroshell opens to expose the orbiter which is then released. The orbiter, which has now been "captured" into orbit, conducts two additional maneuvers. The first maneuver is to circularize the orbit by raising the orbiter's periapsis with a propulsive burn conducted at apoapsis. The second maneuver is another propulsive burn conducted at periapsis to clean up residual errors and place the orbiter into its final science orbit. The entire aerocapture process is completed within the time frame of a single orbit. The key supporting technologies addressed by the ARRIVAL mission that are needed to implement an aerocapture maneuver include aerodynamic devices, entry vehicle systems, and guidance, navigation, and control algorithms necessary to accurately modulate the aerodynamic forces and maintain the entry vehicle on the aerocapture flight path through the atmosphere of the targeted planetary body.

The ARRIVAL flight test will demonstrate aerocapture at Earth as a precursor to using the technology for future planetary science missions. Aerocapture technology reduces the required capability and mass of a spacecraft propulsion system, enabling more mass allocation for science instruments, and is particularly beneficial for missions to the Solar System's gas giants and missions that support NASA's Mars Exploration objectives. The Aerocapture Demonstration Relevance Assessment Team (ADRAT) independent assessment conducted by NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) in 2023 confirmed that an Earth demonstration of aerocapture would significantly reduce key technological risks. The benefits of aerocapture have been demonstrated in numerous studies and conceptual mission designs over more than four decades, but the maneuver has never been attempted in flight. The ARRIVAL demonstration mission is intended to focus on key objectives necessary to mature the technological readiness of aerocapture including vehicle aerodynamics, flight dynamics, guidance, navigation and control, and mission operations. Flight data will be acquired during the demonstration and used to improve and validate tools to design, plan, and implement future missions.​

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.