Formation Flying with a Beach Ball Coronagraph

This Early-stage CIF will produce a formation-flying test bed (FFTB) of a two-spacecraft (one passive, one active) solar coronagraph, increasing this concept from TRL-2 to TRL-4 upon conclusion. The approach is to develop prototype hardware and control algorithms, and test this system at an existing GSFC Sun Simulator facility in Bldg. 21 by the end of July, 2016. Hardware-in-the-loop testing of formation flying control software using actual, planned CubeSat hardware.

This will help demonstrate the formation flying capabilities for a future CubeSat or Heliophysics Explorer. The development can also be used in the future as a starting point for more complex formation flying, including both Heliophysics and Astrophysics applications.

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.

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.