Attachment_1-_SOO.pdf

STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES

Advanced Spacecraft Systems with Integrated Structural Thermal Technologies

(ASSISTT)

Dated: 20 December 2017

United States military operations depend heavily on space systems because they offer unparalleled persistence, global access, and direct support to the warfighter virtually anytime and anywhere.

Traditionally, space systems have operated unhindered in an uncontested environment. However, as space becomes increasingly competitive, congested, and contested; new concepts, approaches, technologies, and architectures are required to ensure US space systems continue to provide the necessary support on which US military operations depend. These include critical capabilities for communication; position, navigation, and timing; missile warning; weather; imaging, surveillance, and reconnaissance; space situation awareness; defensive space control; and battle management command and control. The focus of this Call is to develop integrated structural and thermal technologies that enable advanced spacecraft concepts in the mission areas mentioned above.

The Air Force Research Laboratory, Space Vehicles Directorate (AFRL/RV) is seeking proposals from offerors to advance the technology and scientific knowledge in the areas of deployable structures, thermal systems, RF antenna structures, integrated structural sensing, and advanced manufacturing. Efforts will include basic and advanced research, advanced component and technology development, and prototyping and system development and will span the range from concept and laboratory experimentation to testing or demonstration in a relevant environment. Specific tasks include design, development, analysis, fabrication, integration, characterization, prototyping, testing/experimentation, and demonstration of hardware and software products. White papers are sought covering the following four areas, each area must be addressed:

1) Deployable RF Antennas: The primary goal for deployable space structures is to fit large apertures that deploy on-orbit into small volumes for launch. The primary metric for deployable structures is the areal packaging density, which is the deployed on-orbit area to the stowed launch volume.

The current state of the art is on the order of 0.1 m2/L. AFRL/RV is seeking proposals to increase this metric to 1 m2/L for deployable structures including RF communication antennas, phased arrays, and reflectors. Other areas of emphasis for deployable RF antennas are concept, approaches, and techniques to improve affordability, reduce complexity, and increase multi-mission utility including broadband and multifunction concepts. The emphasis for this topic call are cubesat and small satellite technologies, but innovative ideas for large spacecraft will also be considered.

2) Large On-orbit Structures: In addition to deployable RF antennas, we are seeking innovative concepts in the general area of large on-orbit structures which includes deployable structures such as solar arrays, instrument booms, and solar sails as well as novel concepts for on-orbit assembly and manufacturing. Proposed approaches must discuss the current state-of-the-art including on-orbit size, launch volume, affordability, and complexity metrics and how the proposed approach exceeds these metrics.

3) Thermal Systems: For most spacecraft, the thermal systems and the spacecraft structure are tightly coupled systems. Thus, this area seeks to improve the performance of both systems through integration and multi-functionality. We are seeking concepts that provide higher thermal performance over state-of-the-art with emphasis on high-flux component cooling, high temperature electronics (100 to 200 degrees C), and lower cost alternatives for constant conductance heat pipes and loop heat pipes. We are also seeking advanced thermal concepts to

STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES

Advanced Spacecraft Systems with Integrated Structural Thermal Technologies

(ASSISTT)

Dated: 20 December 2017 increase the thermal dissipation capability for cubesats and small satellites (ESPA-Grande-class and below) including integrated structural-thermal panels and deployable radiators. Finally, we are seeking novel ideas to improve thermal testing cost and schedule for small spacecraft and spacecraft components.

4) Advanced and Agile Manufacturing: Finally, AFRL/RV is seeking ideas to improve spacecraft manufacturing approaches with an emphasis on affordability, multi-functionality, and schedule improvement. Areas of interest include:

a. Multi-material 3D printing or other novel manufacturing concepts that integrate electrical (data and power), thermal, RF antennas/connections, sensing, and other functionality into a structural substrate

b. Machine vision and machine learning concepts to improve spacecraft manufacturability and to reduce the cost of spacecraft assembly, integration, and testing

c. Energy responsive structures concepts that manipulate how the spacecraft interacts with the electro-magnetic environment such as meta-material antennas and variable emissivity thermal control coatings

d. Secondary payload adapters and bus/payload concepts based on these adapters that reduce the cost for assembly, integration, and testing and ultimately reduce the cost to launch spacecraft into orbit

These areas of exploration will include the research and development in formulating concepts, building mockups/prototypes, testing feasibility, designing and conducting experiments, modeling and simulation, preparation for flight experiments and execution of flight experiments. The intent of this research is to advance the Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) and document the progress in above areas of exploration as applied to Space Vehicles.