The development of an low-cost, integrated propulsion and structure module for small satellites has the potential to assist in the progress towards the achievement of NASA near-term and long-term scientific and technical goals. Specifically, the proposed innovation is related to the following NASA Grand Challenges as specified by the Office of the Chief Technologist: 1. Economical access to space 2. Space debris hazard mitigation 3. New tools of discovery The proposed innovation is also relevant to the following NASA Strategic Goals: 1. Goal 1.2: Develop competitive opportunities for the commercial community to provide best value products and services to low Earth orbit and beyond. 2. Goal 2: Expand scientific understanding of the Earth and the universe in which we live. 3. Goal 3: Create the innovative new space technologies for our exploration, science, and economic future. 4. Goal 6.1: Improve retention of students in STEM disciplines by providing opportunities and activities along the full length of the education pipeline. The proposed innovation is also relevant to the following current NASA programs: 1. ELaNA 2. NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative 3. Future small satellite missions for deep space or Earth observation
IPPSM module enables small, agile and dexterous space systems, addressing needs in: 1. Space situational awareness and hazard mitigation (Military) 2. Reactive asset deployment for tactical coverage (Military) 3. On-orbit asset-servicing (Commercial & Military) 4. Long-life standardized 6U and 12U bus (Commercial & Scientific) 5. Low-cost earth imaging, remote sensing, and telecommunications (Commercial) Potential customers include: 1. Current university and non-profit nanosatellite and Cubesat programs 2. Commercial nano-satellite developers 3. Low-cost commercial telecommunications and Earth observation companies. Examples include APrizeSat, Quake Global, Skybox Imaging 4. Private space exploration companies 5. Developing countries that need low-cost LEO assets to provide critical services not currently provided to their region Arkyd Astronautics' parent company, Planetary Resources, Inc., also intends to use the developed technology as part of its private spacecraft development for near-Earth asteroid exploration and prospecting.
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