The NASA authorization act of 2010 (P.L. 111-267) authorizes the NASA office of the chief technologist (OCT) to develop technologies in support of space exploration. To this end, OCT has created the…

The NASA authorization act of 2010 (P.L. 111-267) authorizes the NASA office of the chief technologist (OCT) to develop technologies in support of space exploration. To this end, OCT has created the game changing development (GCD) program within the space technology program (STP). The GCD program primarily focuses on maturation of key technologies across the mid-technology readiness levels (TRL), namely TRL 3-5. Future NASA missions require the development of advanced thermal control technologies. More specifically, NASA is interested in the development of variable heat rejection (VHR) technologies applicable to these exploration missions. The NASA human spaceflight studies have identified VHR thermal control systems as a key capability required for extending human presence throughout the solar system. In addition, the need for these technologies was captured within the relevant NASA space technology roadmap (TA-14, thermal management systems) and innovative components and loop architectures were identified as the second most important technical challenge within that roadmap. Finally, the VHR initiative responds to the technologies in the national research council s recommendations to the NASA technology roadmaps. The subject purchase order is the result of a proposal submitted by ATK space systems selected for award under the NASA research announcement (NRA) NNL12A3001N entitled game changing opportunities in technology development (gcotd) 2012 appendix c, technology development for variable heat rejection (VHR). The NRA solicitation sought proposals for the study of advanced variable heat rejection technologies to address a difficult design challenge facing future NASA exploration missions. The VHR development effort is anticipated to occur in four phases. During each phase, the technology readiness level (TRL) of the selected technologies will be advanced and the culmination of phase IV will result in TRL 5/6 hardware. Phase i, is the formulation phase, and will include an analytical study to demonstrate the feasibility and viability of the proposed technology. Only phase i is presently approved by the GCD program management and was solicited under appendix c. At the end of the formulation phase, the study results will be reviewed along with programmatic considerations to determine whether the project will enter implementation, phases II through IV.