Scalable Passive Interferometric Distributed Exploration Radiometer (SPIDER)

SPIDER will mature a distributed L-band interferometric radiometer architecture that uses 3D-printed antennas, coordinated/synchronized low-SWaP receiver nodes, and post-processed GNSS/SDR timing to synthesize large effective apertures without large deployable reflectors to improve passive microwave spatial resolution while enabling scalable hosted-payload and disaggregated observatory concepts. The FY27 effort will lay the technical foundation for a future LaRC sUAS multi-node demonstration by developing the system architecture, receiver-node concept, aperture-synthesis/RFI-geolocation algorithms, timing/baseline error budget, data-rate trade space, and 3D Printing of Electronics (3DPE) antenna approach, with hardware characterization and limited ground or single-node testing pursued as resources and schedule allow. The targeted infusion path is near-term Earth-science technology maturation for ESTO-relevant opportunities, airborne demonstrations, hosted-payload concepts, and disaggregated observatory architectures, with follow-on relevance to Heliophysics/space-weather sensing and Moon-to-Mars shallow-subsurface applications. As an Early-Stage Innovation, SPIDER is programmatically ambitious but technically conservative: FY27 will prioritize quantitative risk retirement before committing to a full multi-node moving-baseline demonstration.

System architecture for distributed L-band interferometric radiometer using 3D-printed antennas, low-SWaP receiver nodes, and GNSS/SDR timing; synthetic large effective apertures without large deployable reflectors; improved passive microwave spatial resolution enabling scalable hosted-payload and disaggregated observatory concepts.

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.

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