Improved Test and Launch Operations

Special Aerospace Services (SAS) has detailed knowledge and experience in remote and autonomous launch sites, inclusive of foreign launch sites. SAS will provide NASA with an analysis of the historic and current trending of the launch vehicle to ground and launch vehicle to payload interfaces. SAS will accomplish this by leveraging its extensive knowledge of domestic and foreign launch vehicles (traditional and ?new space?) and their associated launch sites. In leveraging this data, SAS will identify candidates for possible standardization, and where candidates are not available, will develop preliminary concepts for considerations of becoming standards. As part of the preparation for this effort, SAS has engaged a robotic and autonomy control company (outside the space industry) to advise SAS on new innovative autonomy technology and its applications for developing non-standard approaches to processing and operating spaceflight vehicles.

In the space industry, development of common interfaces and modularity allows the development of servicing systems for the launch vehicles and payloads to be outside the confines of their respective designs and facilities. This has the potential of producing a large economic value. This development moves such systems upstream in the process and allows the creation of support service companies focused on servicing the space industry. As terrestrial development continues, extraterrestrial operations benefit. In developing the architecture for off-planet operations, this modularity (and its robotic connectivity) allows these extraterrestrial modules to be similar to their terrestrial counterparts and to operate remotely, or even autonomously.

In the chemical industry, SAS has identified certain segments suffering similar circumstances related to inconsistent interfaces. With the space industry closely resembling the chemical industry (especially with fluid commodities), the chemical industry can also benefit from this effort. Another industry that could benefit from this effort is the energy industry. There are many similarities with the space industry, especially when considering the severe environments and high-risk ventures involved. We have identified aspects of this industry having similar issues when systems interface with one another. The electric car industry is becoming viable and as such, it is ripe for developing standard interfaces as it matures. This industry has yet to determine the interface requirements for recharging all electric vehicles in a common manner. Similar to the space industry, they are in a parochial stage where the driver must use equipment produced by the builder of the electric automobile.

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.