Roll-Out De-Orbiting Device

NASA intends to place small spacecraft (<100kg) and very small spacecraft (<15kg) into a variety of orbits. Methods and technologies are needed to intentionally de-orbit these spacecraft at end of mission, or upon loss of control and function. CTD has developed a family of highly mass efficient Roll-Out De-Orbiting devices (RODEO). RODEO provides a dramatic increase in the deployed surface area, resulting in higher aerodynamic drag and significantly reduced time until satellite re-entry. RODEO's composite booms self-deploy with no external spacecraft power, and the inherent simplicity of RODEO results in extremely low costs, low mass, and low power.

CTD has begun to identify several terrestrial applications where this technology can be leveraged. For instance, CTD is actively pursuing multiple commercial, and military applications (both terrestrial and non-terrestrial) for rollable composite tubes and structures. These include the development of rollable bridge structures and portable solar arrays.

Successful achievement of the objectives defined for this program can provide a significant capability to NASA and NASA contractors to aid in the development of many future NASA small satellite missions. At present, many of these missions are limited with regards to the orbits / altitudes to which they can launch without risk of surpassing the required re-entry timeline. The ability to have passively deployed rolled de-orbit device like the proposed RODEO system is extremely advantageous. The highly predictable rolled composite booms proposed will not only enable the RODEO low cost de-orbit device, but they could eventually lead to additional NASA advanced boom applications (such as magnetometers).

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.