{"project":{"acronym":"","projectId":9327,"title":"Hummingbird - A Very Low Cost, High Delta V Spacecraft for Solar System Exploration","primaryTaxonomyNodes":[{"taxonomyNodeId":10724,"taxonomyRootId":8816,"parentNodeId":10721,"level":3,"code":"TX07.1.3","title":"Resource Processing for Production of Mission Consumables","definition":"This area covers resource processing technologies that produce mission consumables, such as water, breathable oxygen, inert gases, and propellants, from pre-processed resources.","exampleTechnologies":"Instruments and devices functioning in the relevant gravity environment including: thermal/mechanical components and reactors to extract end-product resources from inert materials (e.g. thermal reactors for volatile extraction from regolith); chemical, electrochemical, and biological materials, catalysts, components, and reactors to extract and combine resources to produce end-products (e.g. catalytic reactors to produce methane, electrolysis devices to produce oxygen, etc.); phase-change devices to extract or distill end-product gases from by-product recycling sources (e.g. cryocoolers for gas product drying); filtration and purification devices for meeting mission-critical end use requirements; crosscutting technologies for enhancing production system durability and reliability in harsh environments (e.g. dust tolerant seals and bearings); crosscutting technologies for utilizing sources of high-temperature thermal energy for process-heating (e.g. integrated solar concentrators); and models and simulations to identify and quantify opportunities for systemic reductions in power requirements and enhancements in durability and reliability for resource processing systems","hasChildren":false,"hasInteriorContent":true}],"startTrl":4,"currentTrl":4,"endTrl":4,"benefits":"By both dramatically reducing spacecraft cost and size, along with development schedule, the proposed Hummingbird spacecraft provides the opportunity to meet multiple Earth science and solar system exploration mission needs. Missions being considered for the Hummingbird spacecraft, constellations, or clusters include GPS Radio Occultation (GPSRO), Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons (ASCENDS), Global Atmospheric Composition Mission (GACM), Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE-II), Comet Surface Sample Return (CSSR), Trojan Tour and Rendezvous (TTR), and Lunar Geophysical Network (LGN). All of these missions could benefit by having constellations of satellites, satellites able to orbit at much lower altitudes, or a combination of the two. For example, the GPSRO mission could significantly increase the number of satellites in the constellation from the 6 currently being planned and still end up with an overall mission cost much less than the planned $150M. The CSSR, TTR, and LGN missions all would benefit from the very large delta-V capability that is inherent in the current NanoEye spacecraft that can be modified to accommodate the different needs of these 3 missions, which is especially easy relative to adding delta-V capability at low non-recurring cost.
The principal non-NASA Hummingbird application is for military missions, with additional applications for weather monitoring, disaster monitoring and news photography, that provides rapid revisit opportunities and real-time or near real time viewing of the Earth's surface through the use of Hummingbird constellations, in particular. Weather monitoring represents a major application area that could benefit greatly from the low cost aspect of Hummingbird that would allow large constellations of spacecraft focused on data collection of selected latitude ranges of interest. Approximately 30 satellites would provide repeat coverage of selected regions approximately every 10 minutes 24 hours per day, seven days per week, and both during the day and at night. In addition, even when not over a specific area of interest, weather data could still be collected for use by others.","description":"Based on Microcosm's development of a high delta-V small Earth observation spacecraft called NanoEye, with a planned recurring cost of $2 million, Microcosm will develop a new class of very low cost, light weight, extremely capable spacecraft for NASA science and exploration missions, from Earth orbit to deep space. This new spacecraft, called Hummingbird, is based on an all-composite, unibody structure in which the propellant tank is the structure. The first payload would be the 2.9 kg, 9.25-inch aperture diffraction-limited telescope built by ITT. Space-qualified 1-lbf thrusters from AeroJet weighing 8.7 gm each provide both orbit control and very rapid attitude maneuvers. The current NanoEye spacecraft has over 2.5 km/sec of delta-V, although delta-V can be increased considerably. The wet mass of the spacecraft is about 80 kg in its present configuration. The spacecraft uses CubeSat components, which are evolving rapidly to become more robust and capable. Multiple Hummingbirds can work together as a system and also provide robustness against system failures. Updates with new equipment can be introduced 3 to 10 times quicker than with traditional space systems, allowing responsive mission implementation at a cost and time scale not possible with traditional space missions.","startYear":2012,"startMonth":2,"endYear":2012,"endMonth":8,"statusDescription":"Completed","principalInvestigators":[{"contactId":394952,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Richard","lastName":"Van Allen","fullName":"Richard Van Allen","fullNameInverted":"Van Allen, Richard","primaryEmail":"rvanallen@smad.com","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"programDirectors":[{"contactId":206378,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Jason","lastName":"Kessler","fullName":"Jason L Kessler","fullNameInverted":"Kessler, Jason L","middleInitial":"L","primaryEmail":"jason.l.kessler@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"programExecutives":[{"contactId":215154,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Jennifer","lastName":"Gustetic","fullName":"Jennifer L Gustetic","fullNameInverted":"Gustetic, Jennifer L","middleInitial":"L","primaryEmail":"jennifer.l.gustetic@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"programManagers":[{"contactId":62051,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Carlos","lastName":"Torrez","fullName":"Carlos Torrez","fullNameInverted":"Torrez, Carlos","primaryEmail":"carlos.torrez@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"projectManagers":[{"contactId":20180,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Andres","lastName":"Martinez","fullName":"Andres Martinez","fullNameInverted":"Martinez, Andres","primaryEmail":"andres.martinez@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false},{"contactId":461333,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Theresa","lastName":"Stanley","fullName":"Theresa M Stanley","fullNameInverted":"Stanley, Theresa M","middleInitial":"M","primaryEmail":"theresa.m.stanley@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"website":"","libraryItems":[],"transitions":[{"transitionId":65280,"projectId":9327,"transitionDate":"2012-08-01","path":"Closed Out","closeoutDocuments":[{"title":"Final Summary Chart","file":{"fileExtension":"pdf","fileId":305508,"fileName":"SBIR_2011_1_FSC_S4.01-8504","fileSize":223855,"objectId":65280,"objectType":{"lkuCodeId":1841,"code":"TRANSITION_FILES","description":"Transition Files","lkuCodeTypeId":182,"lkuCodeType":{"codeType":"OBJECT_TYPE","description":"Object Type"}},"fileSizeString":"218.6 KB"},"transitionId":65280,"fileId":305508}],"infoText":"Closed out","infoTextExtra":"","dateText":"August 2012"}],"responsibleMd":{"acronym":"STMD","canUserEdit":false,"city":"","external":false,"linkCount":0,"organizationId":4875,"organizationName":"Space Technology Mission Directorate","organizationType":"NASA_Mission_Directorate","naorganization":false,"organizationTypePretty":"NASA Mission Directorate"},"program":{"acronym":"SBIR/STTR","active":true,"description":"
The NASA SBIR and STTR programs fund the research, development, and demonstration of innovative technologies that fulfill NASA needs as described in the annual Solicitations and have significant potential for successful commercialization. If you are a small business concern (SBC) with 500 or fewer employees or a non-profit RI such as a university or a research laboratory with ties to an SBC, then NASA encourages you to learn more about the SBIR and STTR programs as a potential source of seed funding for the development of your innovations.
The SBIR and STTR programs have 3 phases:
The SBIR and STTR Phase I contracts last for 6 months with a maximum funding of $125,000, and Phase II contracts last for 24 months with a maximum funding of $750,000 - $1.5 million.
Opportunity for Continued Technology Development Post-Phase II:
The NASA SBIR/STTR Program currently has in place two initiatives for supporting its small business partners past the basic Phase I and Phase II elements of the program that emphasize opportunities for commercialization. Specifically, the NASA SBIR/STTR Program has the Phase II Enhancement (Phase II-E) and Phase II eXpanded (Phase II-X) contract options.
Please review the links below to obtain more information on the SBIR/STTR programs.
Provides an overview of the SBIR and STTR programs as implemented by NASA
Provides access to the annual SBIR/STTR Solicitations containing detailed information on the program eligibility requirements, proposal instructions and research topics and subtopics
Schedule and links for the SBIR/STTR solicitations and selection announcements
Federal and non-Federal sources of assistance for small business
Search our complete archive of awarded project abstracts to learn about what NASA has funded
Still have questions? Visit the program FAQs
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