Overview The Edison Small Satellite Demonstration Missions program will develop and operate a series of NASA-focused small satellite demonstration missions. This program is to accelerate the development of small spacecraft capabilities for NASA, commercial, and other space sector users. Specifically:
- identify candidate small spacecraft technologies with game-changing and/or crosscutting potential and mature these technologies for flight;
- regularly and affordably demonstrate these and other small spacecraft technologies in the space environment;
- improve or create new small spacecraft capabilities for lower cost and/or advanced satellite communication, remote observation, and space physics applications; and
- demonstrate new small spacecraft capabilities that constitute new satellite and spacecraft applications, such as biological and physical research, satellite servicing, space debris removal, and planetary investigations.
As a secondary objective, Edison missions could also provide targets of opportunity on small spacecraft for peer-reviewed science objectives or hands-on spacecraft mission experience for university students.
Example technology focused demonstrations: formation flying, payload recovery, orbital debris removal, autonomous/ collaborative/close proximity operations, advanced power systems (long life or space-to-space transmission), advanced propulsion, miniaturized remote sensors, deployable apertures, autonomous swarm, robotics, and interoperable systems.
Through NASA-university collaborative efforts, university students will gain hands-on experience within project activities. In addition, this program seeks to serve the small satellite community by improving the affordability of small payload launch through secondary payload process improvements and other development efforts. NASA will pursue these missions in collaboration with academia and small business in close coordination with relevant successful programs under development at Air Force Research Laboratory and the Operationally Responsive Space Office.
Organization The Level II Program Office for the Edison Small Sat Demonstration Missions (ESSDM) program will be located at the NASA Ames Research Center (ARC). This Office will manage both the Small Sat Subsystem Technologies program in the Game Changing Technology Division and the ESSDM program as a TRL continuum. The Small Satellite Level II Program Office Program Manager will reside at ARC and work in collaboration with the NASA Headquarter Program Executive, reporting directly to the CCD Division Director. The Level II Program Office will also manage implementing organizations (one for each project). They are responsible for project management and systems engineering, project implementation and reporting, mission planning and execution, payload integration, and data analysis.
Program Requirements and Scope The Edison Small Satellite Demonstration Missions Program is seeking to flight validate one or more small spacecraft subsystem technologies or mission capabilities with game-changing and/or crosscutting potential, specifically maturation from NASA Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 5 or 6 to TRL 7. Game-changing technologies are defined as subsystems or mission capabilities that are a major advance over the current state-of-the-art or that represent the creation of a previously non-existent small spacecraft capability. Crosscutting technologies are defined as subsystems or mission capabilities with applicability to more than one potential small spacecraft user in the space sector, including NASA mission directorates, other government agencies, or other civil, commercial, and/or national security users.
Flight validating technologies or mission capabilities that represent only incremental improvements in the state-of-the-art and are of interest to relatively few users are not appropriate for the Edison Program. Technologies or mission capabilities requiring low or mid-TRL advancement (TRL 4 or lower) or very high TRL advancement (TRL 8-9) are not appropriate for the Edison Program.
NASA anticipates that these small spacecraft missions will be launched as secondary payloads or hosted payloads with other spacecraft missions but may eventually include dedicated launches as primary payloads on very small launch vehicles.
“Small spacecraft” is defined as ESPA class (180kg) or less, targeting a specific class of small spacecraft with wet mass ranges:
- Minisatellite, 100 kilograms or higher
- Microsatellite, 10-100 kilograms
- Nanosatellite, 1-10 kilograms
- Picosatellite, 0.01-1 kilograms
- Femtosatellite, 0.01-0.1 kilograms
The Edison Program anticipates two types of missions: subsystem flight validation missions and mission capability demonstrations.
Subsystem Flight Validation Missions Subsystem flight validation missions take advantage of the accessibility and affordability of small spacecraft to rapidly flight validate new small spacecraft subsystems without attempting to demonstrate an overall mission capability. For example, a small spacecraft adhering to the 1U cubesat form factor might flight validate a new electrochromic thermal panel, microthruster, radiation-tolerant processor, rechargeable battery, and solar panel, but demonstrate no overall mission capability that would be replicated or expanded in future, operational spacecraft, even if the individual, flight-validated subsystems are incorporated into future, operational spacecraft.
Subsystem flight validation missions under the Edison Program are limited to two years for design, development, test, and evaluation before launch and operations. A review is required at the end of the design phase for authority to proceed to the development, test and evaluation phase. A second review is required at the end of the development, test and evaluation phase for authority to proceed to the launch and operations phase. Total NASA funding for a subsystem flight validation mission under the Edison Program may range from approximately $1 million to $10 million. Cost-sharing is encouraged, but it is not a requirement or a selection criterion.
Mission Capability Demonstrations Mission capability demonstrations advance the state-of-the-art in small spacecraft, demonstrating how small spacecraft can be used to perform more capable or less costly missions than larger spacecraft or to perform non-existent mission capabilities. For example, a small spacecraft adhering to the 3U cubesat form factor might demonstrate a precision pointing capability that exceeds that of some existing, larger spacecraft or a payload return capability provided by no existing satellite. In the course of the demonstration, the same spacecraft may also flight validate several new subsystems that could be incorporated into various future, operational spacecraft. But the primary purpose of the mission is to demonstrate a capability such as a precision pointing or payload return capability that would be replicated or expanded in future, operational remote observation or biological and physical research spacecraft.
Mission capability demonstrations under the Edison Program are limited to three years for design, development, test, and evaluation before launch and operations. A review is required at the end of the design phase for authority to proceed to the development, test and evaluation phase. A second review is required at the end of the development, test and evaluation phase for authority to proceed to the launch and operations phase. Total NASA funding for a mission capability demonstration under the Edison Program may range from approximately $1 million to $20 million. Cost-sharing is encouraged, but it is not a requirement or a selection criterion.
Questions may be directed to Andrew Petro at
andrew.j.petro@nasa.gov.
