The overall goal of this project is to conduct a satellite mission to demonstrate a novel radiation tolerant computer technology. A 3U small satellite will be deployed from the international space…

This is a $100,000.00 Cooperative Agreement awarded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to Montana State University (MSU) to conduct a satellite mission to demonstrate a novel radiation tolerant computer technology. The project involves deploying a 3U small satellite from the International Space Station (ISS) using the NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer (NRCSD) to operate the computer technology in low Earth orbit for 12 months. This mission is intended to increase the technology's readiness level from 7 to 9, the highest level, by validating its performance in a standalone satellite mission. The computer technology has been in development at MSU for nearly a decade, with prior funding from NASA's Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) program. This award does not have a set-aside designation.

The overall goal of this project is to conduct a satellite mission to demonstrate a novel radiation tolerant computer technology. A 3U small satellite will be deployed from the international space station (ISS) using the nanoracks cubesat deployer (nrcsd), which will provide 12 months of operation of the computer technology in low earth orbit (LEO). The successful operation of the computer in a full stand-alone mission will increase its technical readiness level (TRL) to TRL-9. This computer technology has been in development for nearly a decade at montana state university (MSU), with the majority of funding coming from NASA epscor. The computer technology is currently in-orbit on the ISS as an internal experiment through funding from the 2014 NASA epscor ISS flight opportunity program. This internal demonstration has allowed our team to verify the operation of the computer in a controlled environment and reach TRL-7. In this proposal, we seek funding to support a different, more advanced experiment in which the computer technology will be integrated into a satellite, deployed from the ISS, and operated for 12 months in LEO. This next critical demonstration is necessary to take the computer technology to its final level of TRL-9. The proposed satellite has been selected by the NASA cubesat launch initiative (csli) program for a flight in summer of 2018. As such, we do not require any launch services support from the epscor program. Our team has also been able to design and prototype the satellite through the NASA undergraduate student instrument program (usip). These prior NASA programs have enabled our technology to be ready for flight within 12 months of project funding. The funding request in this proposal is for flight unit qualification, integration, and safety coordination (achieving TRL-8) to demonstrate the computer in LEO using the ISS-based nrcsd (achieving TRL-9).