{"project":{"acronym":"","projectId":93450,"title":"DISCUS: Distributed Intelligent Swarm Control & Utilization System","primaryTaxonomyNodes":[{"taxonomyNodeId":10793,"taxonomyRootId":8816,"parentNodeId":10787,"level":3,"code":"TX10.2.6","title":"Fault Response","definition":"Fault response technologies restore nominal or best possible system configuration and operations after a fault.","exampleTechnologies":"Spacecraft fault impacts reasoning, power system reconfiguration, life support system reconfiguration, robot arm reconfiguration, aircraft emergency landing planner","hasChildren":false,"hasInteriorContent":true}],"startTrl":2,"currentTrl":3,"endTrl":3,"benefits":"The main role of large swarms of Smallsats is to replace the functionality of current monolithic spacecraft while increasing the system flexibility and robustness. Such swarms, operating in LEO (Low Earth Oribit) and GEO (Geostationary Orbit), have many potential NASA applications. For instance, Smallsat swarms replacing current space implementations of Synthetic Aperture Radars can substantially decrease the launch cost and cost of deployment. Other applications of Smallsat swarms include sparse aperture sensing, stellar interferometry, and global broadband internet via satellite swarms. Swarms of Smallsats could also provide global real-time space weather monitoring in a way that is presently not possible from a single satellite. A swarm of satellites in orbit can provide a survey of the geomagnetic field and its temporal evolution, and gain new insights into improving our knowledge of the Earth's interior and climate. This will be a great improvement on the current method of extrapolation based on statistics and ground observations. Other applications of Smallsat swarms could be on-orbit visual inspection of larger spacecraft to provide rapid feedback capability for decision making, and protection of large satellites of critical importance.
Due to lower costs of development and launch, several future commercial applications of Smallsat swarms such as remote sensing, on-orbit servicing, and sparse aperture imaging are viable. Smallsat swarms can be used for rapid communication and imaging tasks to provide situational awareness solutions needed by Department of Defense, National Reconnaissance Office, and Department of Homeland Security. New commercial space applications are viable as a result of having low-cost and rapid access to space with focus on mission flexibility and scalability.","description":"SSCI and University of Washington (Prof. Behcet Acikmese) propose to develop, integrate and test an innovative Distributed Intelligent Swarm Control & Utilization System (DISCUS). The DISCUS will be based on advanced distributed state estimation techniques, probabilistic guidance and control under collision avoidance and other relevant mission constraints, real-time contingency management including reactive collision avoidance with un-responsive team members, and low-level fault-tolerant control robust to subsystem and component failures. Decentralized estimation is based on using RSS (Received Signal strength) and TOA (Time of Arrival) sensors, and fusion of information from EO (Electro-Optical) sensors. Guidance and Control (G&C) is based on extensions of an innovative approach to swarm density control using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) approach with guaranteed satisfaction of the ergodicity, motion, and safety constraints. Reactive collision avoidance will be based on extensions of a suite of SAA algorithms previously developed or under development by SSCI, while fault tolerance will be achieved by combining SSCI's approach to Fault detection, Identification and Accommodation (FDIA) with low-level baseline control. Focus on Phase I will be on the requirements and algorithm development, initial integration of a diverse suite of GNC algorithms, and feasibility demonstration on a simplified swarm simulation. Phase II will involve further maturation and full integration of DISCUS algorithms, and their demonstration under realistic conditions through hardware experiments.","startYear":2017,"startMonth":6,"endYear":2018,"endMonth":6,"statusDescription":"Completed","principalInvestigators":[{"contactId":251414,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Jovan","lastName":"Boskovic","fullName":"Jovan Boskovic","fullNameInverted":"Boskovic, Jovan","primaryEmail":"Jovan.Boskovic@Ssci.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":3163995,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Robert","lastName":"Jones","fullName":"Robert Jones","fullNameInverted":"Jones, Robert","primaryEmail":"Robert.A.Jones@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":[{"file":{"fileExtension":"pdf","fileId":300065,"fileName":"STTR_2017_1_BC_T4.03-9829","fileSize":132005,"objectId":296603,"objectType":{"lkuCodeId":889,"code":"LIBRARY_ITEMS","description":"Library Items","lkuCodeTypeId":182,"lkuCodeType":{"codeType":"OBJECT_TYPE","description":"Object Type"}},"objectTypeId":889,"fileSizeString":"128.9 KB"},"files":[{"fileExtension":"pdf","fileId":300065,"fileName":"STTR_2017_1_BC_T4.03-9829","fileSize":132005,"objectId":296603,"objectType":{"lkuCodeId":889,"code":"LIBRARY_ITEMS","description":"Library Items","lkuCodeTypeId":182,"lkuCodeType":{"codeType":"OBJECT_TYPE","description":"Object Type"}},"objectTypeId":889,"fileSizeString":"128.9 KB"}],"id":296603,"title":"Briefing Chart","description":"DISCUS: Distributed Intelligent Swarm Control & Utilization System, Phase I Briefing Chart","libraryItemTypeId":1222,"projectId":93450,"primary":false,"publishedDateString":"","contentType":{"lkuCodeId":1222,"code":"DOCUMENT","description":"Document","lkuCodeTypeId":341,"lkuCodeType":{"codeType":"LIBRARY_ITEM_TYPE","description":"Library Item Type"}}},{"caption":"DISCUS: Distributed Intelligent Swarm Control & Utilization System, Phase I Briefing Chart Image","file":{"fileExtension":"png","fileId":297091,"fileName":"STTR_2017_1_BC_T4.03-9829","fileSize":215630,"objectId":293622,"objectType":{"lkuCodeId":889,"code":"LIBRARY_ITEMS","description":"Library Items","lkuCodeTypeId":182,"lkuCodeType":{"codeType":"OBJECT_TYPE","description":"Object Type"}},"objectTypeId":889,"fileSizeString":"210.6 KB"},"files":[{"fileExtension":"png","fileId":297091,"fileName":"STTR_2017_1_BC_T4.03-9829","fileSize":215630,"objectId":293622,"objectType":{"lkuCodeId":889,"code":"LIBRARY_ITEMS","description":"Library Items","lkuCodeTypeId":182,"lkuCodeType":{"codeType":"OBJECT_TYPE","description":"Object Type"}},"objectTypeId":889,"fileSizeString":"210.6 KB"}],"id":293622,"title":"Briefing Chart Image","description":"DISCUS: Distributed Intelligent Swarm Control & Utilization System, Phase I Briefing Chart Image","libraryItemTypeId":1095,"projectId":93450,"primary":true,"publishedDateString":"","contentType":{"lkuCodeId":1095,"code":"IMAGE","description":"Image","lkuCodeTypeId":341,"lkuCodeType":{"codeType":"LIBRARY_ITEM_TYPE","description":"Library Item Type"}}}],"transitions":[{"transitionId":69618,"projectId":93450,"partner":"Other","transitionDate":"2018-06-01","path":"Advanced To","relatedProjectId":95006,"relatedProject":{"acronym":"","projectId":95006,"title":"Distributed Intelligent Swarm Control & Utilization System (DISCUS): Further Maturation and Demonstration","startTrl":3,"currentTrl":5,"endTrl":5,"benefits":"DISCUS is applicable to future NASA Deep Space missions including space apertures at Lagrangian points, and orbiting missions at asteroids and faraway planets and moons. SmallSat swarms could be used to build Synthetic Aperture Radars, sparse aperture sensors, stellar interferometers, and global broadband internet. Swarms of SmallSats could also provide global real-time space weather monitoring, a survey of the geomagnetic field and its temporal evolution, and gain new insights into improving our knowledge of the Earth's interior and climate.
Due to lower costs of development and launch, several future commercial applications of SmallSat swarms such as remote sensing, on-orbit servicing, and sparse aperture imaging are viable. SmallSat swarms can be used for rapid communication and imaging tasks to provide situational awareness solutions needed by the Department of Defense, National Reconnaissance Office, and Department of Homeland Security. DISCUS will also have application in commercial Deep Space missions such as asteroid surveillance to locate areas where mining will be feasible and profitable.","description":"DISCUS is a generic Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) system for swarms of SmallSats. It integrates communications and relative localization with innovative Density Control Algorithms (DCA) enabling robust operation in a variety of uncertain environments. As such, it presents a key enabling technology for future Deep Space missions including space apertures at Lagrangian points, and orbiting missions at asteroids and faraway planets and moons. The key aspect of DISCUS is tight integration of communications with relative localization and control. The proposed RF communications architecture provides a dual benefit since the RF signals are also used for relative localization based on ToA and TDoA sensing modes. Density Control approach is highly robust to failures of individual spacecraft and has the key property of self-healing, which allows for mission continuation even with a reduced capability. DCA are integrated with our effective collision detection and avoidance algorithms improving the overall system safety and efficiency. The contingency mitigation module monitors the health of the swarm and removes failed spacecraft in a safe manner. Proposed DISCUS algorithms were demonstrated in Phase I through computer simulations, as well as through initial flight tests at a UW Lab. Phase II will focus on the following: (i) Further development of mission-related DISCUS requirements and metrics and a mission simulation; (ii) Further development and testing of the communications architecture, relative localization strategy and Density Control Algorithms; (iv) Further development and testing of the Collision Avoidance and Contingency Mitigation algorithms; (v) Hardware testing of the overall DISCUS system using quadcopters in the UW lab; and (vi) DISCUS software delivery to NASA. Phase II-X will focus on transition of the DISCUS technology to NASA missions.","startYear":2018,"startMonth":9,"endYear":2021,"endMonth":3,"statusDescription":"Completed","website":"","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
","programId":73,"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"},"responsibleMdId":4875,"stockImageFileId":36648,"title":"Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer"},"lastUpdated":"2024-1-10","releaseStatusString":"Released","viewCount":41,"endDateString":"Mar 2021","startDateString":"Sep 2018"},"infoText":"Advanced within the program","infoTextExtra":"Another project within the program (Distributed Intelligent Swarm Control & Utilization System (DISCUS): Further Maturation and Demonstration)","dateText":"June 2018"}],"primaryImage":{"file":{"fileExtension":"png","fileId":297091,"fileSizeString":"0 Byte"},"id":293622,"description":"DISCUS: Distributed Intelligent Swarm Control & Utilization System, Phase I Briefing Chart Image","projectId":93450,"publishedDateString":""},"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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