Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer
Precision Guided Parafoil System For Sounding Rocket Recovery, Phase II
Project Description
The primary goal of the proposed STARA innovation is to develop and demonstrate a high altitude precision guided parafoil system that will enable NASA to control the final landing point of the sounding rocket payload, thus reducing system offset, recovery time, and recovery cost. Current recovery methods utilize unguided parachutes, which are susceptible to large uncertainties in recovery locations due to unforeseen variables. Using a precision guiding parafoil system deployed at high altitudes coupled with a steerable ballute would enable the landing of the payload at a defined location.
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Anticipated Benefits
The primary purpose of the precision guided parafoil system is to enable delivery of large high-altitude payloads to pre-defined locations for easier recovery. The innovative addition of a steerable ballute to increase offset the target area will further improve the delivery of payloads to pre-defined location for easier recovery. Based on this mission there are a number of potential NASA applications for our proposed solution: - Sounding Rocket Recovery ÔøΩ The precision guided parafoil system can be used for NASA sounding rocket missions as a means to lower costs and reduce resources necessary to carry out sounding rocket water recovery efforts ÔøΩSuborbital and/or Orbital rocket recovery ÔøΩ enable precision landing of suborbital and/or orbital rockets ÔøΩ International Space Station ÔøΩ enable precision landing of payloads released from the International Space Station ÔøΩ High-Altitude Balloons ÔøΩ enable precision of landing of payloads release from high altitude balloons. Aircraft ÔøΩenable precision landing of payloads released from aircraft. There are a number of potential non-NASA commercial application for the precision guided parafoil system: Commercial Space ÔøΩ Ventures utilizing re-entry vehicles can use this technology to recover their capsules; High Altitude Ballooning ÔøΩ With the recent considerable interest in high altitude ballooning for edge of space and ballistic rocket planes for suborbital tourism, our system could be used for the recovery of these systems; Emergency Response Applications ÔøΩ Precision guided systems can be attractive to emergency responders that require delivery of food, equipment and supplies too difficult to reach locations; Industrial Applications ÔøΩ This technology can be beneficial to any industry requiring high-altitude precision recovery and/or delivery of payloads to pre-defined locations; Military Applications ÔøΩ Potential military applications for this technology would benefit any high-altitude precision recovery and/or delivery of payloads similar to sounding rockets that need to be delivered to pre-defined locations; Airborne Delivery System (ADS) for Terrestrial Return Vehicle (TRV) ÔøΩ Enable precision landing of the Terrestrial Return Vehicle (TRV) that will enable on demand rapid return of experiments for the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory.
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Primary U.S. Work Locations and Key Partners
| Organizations Performing Work | Role | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| STARA Technologies Corporation | Lead Organization | Industry | Gilbert, Arizona |
Goddard Space Flight Center
(GSFC)
|
Supporting Organization | NASA Center | Greenbelt, Maryland |
Primary U.S. Work Locations
-
Arizona
-
Maryland
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