Correlated Electromagnetic Levitation Actuator

This technology development aligns with many of NASA’s and Marshall’s Strategic goals as it can be used in many different applications. It specifically aligns with the following Marshall goals:

1. In-Space Propulsion with Emphasis on Electric Propulsion

2. Affordable, Innovative Transportation Architectures and Technologies for Low Earth (LEO) Delivery of Small Payloads

3. Small, Affordable ISS Payloads

4. Technologies for Space Situational Awareness and Space Object Interactions

5. Small Spacecraft and Enabling Technologies

   In addition to being able to actuate reaction wheels without ball bearings, this technology will allow us to enable the following technologies: non-pyrotechnic separation systems that have few to no moving mechanical parts, autonomous docking and rendezvous, more efficient ion propulsion, LEO cubesats launched from ISS, aides for astronauts assembling components/structures, self-assembling components (including proximity operations for satellites), frictionless transmission with re-programmable gear ratios, multiple degrees of freedom (MDOF) actuator (such as reaction wheel control), non-mechanical thrust vectoring (thrust vector control (TVC)), non-pyrotechnic cubesat deployment mechanisms, chip-scale and small-scale accelerators, and many more.