10kW VSAT Study (10kW VSAT-STUDY)

NASA is planning a lunar landing near the moon's South Pole in the 2028 time period, this mission is to be followed by the establishment of a lunar base early in the 2030's.  The recent VSAT project developed prototype VSAT systems composed of autonomously deployable vertical arrays on masts of up to 20m in length in order to capture near continuous sun light at the lunar south pole.  This is necessary as the low sun grazing angle requires elevated arrays if the intent is to generate power for year-round operations.  The 10kW Vertical Solar Array Technology (VSAT) study follows on the heels of the VSAT project and is focused on the development of a strategy to conduct a flight mission technology demonstration on the Lunar surface in the early 2030's.  The major focus of the effort will be to identify the appropriate set of mission requirements.  This will be done through a literature search and evaluation of the multiple trade studies and architecture efforts that have been conducted in recent years in preparation for the return to the moon.  The team will cull these documents and make a recommended set of baseline requirements that a flight technology demonstration should fulfil.  After the team has a good understanding of the mission requirements a cost estimate will be prepared that will encompass both the solar array payload and the lander required to place the demonstration on the lunar surface. Finally, the team will evaluate strategies to engage industry in the conduct of the demonstration.  The 10KW VSAT Study goals are:Develop a Design Reference Mission for a VSAT Technical DemonstrationPrepare a cost estimate for such a missionPropose an Acquisition Strategy to achieve the Technical Demonstration

​The benefit of this activity will be a better understanding of what should be accomplished during a flight technology demonstration.  As of now there is considerable lack of clarity as to what should be pursued.  The technology demonstration could be as simple as a sub-scale system that would be deployed from a lander and last for a few days or weeks, basically demonstrating functionality of the deployment mechanisms and the ability to generate small amounts of power.  A demonstration could also be a working solar array system that is meant to operate for several years and perform all of the VSAT functionality.  Determining where along the continuum between these two demonstration concepts is of primary importance to NASA decision makers.  When combining the mission and requirements with a cost estimate and an acquisition strategy, NASA leadership will have the details required to make an informed decision of the path forward for the VSAT technology.

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.