Spacecraft On-orbit Advanced Refueling and Storage

Zero-G Horizons Technologies (ZGHT) in partnership with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) is developing a Spacecraft On-Orbit Advanced Refueling and Storage (SOARS) system. SOARS directly supports Moon to Mars Campaign (NASA’s Space Policy Directive-1). The key innovation of SOARS enables the separation of liquid and gas in microgravity through our unique rotational settling technology and leads to transfer of only the desired liquid propellant with minimal pressure difference without expensive pumps and thereby providing a cost-effective solution. ZGHT the first and the only company who pioneered this unique SOARS technology to Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 through the Facilitated Access to the Space Environment for Technology (FAST) program flight testing using NASA’s Reduced Gravity Aircraft (30 seconds microgravity). Through this NASA SBIR grant, suborbital flight test onboard Virgin Galactic’s SpaceshipTwo (four minutes microgravity) and orbital flight test onboard the International Space Station (ISS) will mature the technology to TRL 7. Exposure to long-duration microgravity environment using ISS facility is a key factor in demonstrating this technology for various operational test scenarios using the Synchronized Position Hold Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) testbed onboard ISS. The collaboration with Made In Space (MIS) will enable utilization of the Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF) to fabricate the experiment hardware in ISS. Ultimately ZGHT is committed to establish itself as a key player in the area of propellant storage and transfer in space. Phase I of this SBIR will involve planning and preparation for suborbital Virgin Galactic vehicle and orbital ISS testing. Phase II will involve the fabrication and flight experimentation. Phase III involves the identification and collaboration with commercial partners and to utilize Archinaut program of MIS to directly fabricate and test the prototype in Low Earth Orbit. More »