NASA Picks Three Proposals for Flight Demonstration

MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109 PHONE 818-354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

Priscilla Vega/Jane Platt 818-354-5011
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Priscilla.r.vega@jpl.nasa.gov / jane.platt@jpl.nasa.gov

David E. Steitz 202-358-1730
NASA Headquarters, Washington
david.steitz@nasa.gov

News release: 2011-261 Aug. 22, 2011

NASA Picks Three Proposals for Flight Demonstration

The full version of this story with accompanying images is at:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-261&cid=release_2011-261

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA has selected three proposals, including one from NASA's
Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., as Technology Demonstration Missions to
transform space communications, deep space navigation and in-space propulsion
capabilities. The projects will develop and fly a space solar sail, deep space atomic clock,
and space-based optical communications system.

These crosscutting flight demonstrations were selected because of their potential to
provide tangible, near-term products and infuse high-impact capabilities into NASA's
future space operations missions. By investing in high payoff, disruptive technology that
industry does not have today, NASA matures the technology required for its future
missions while proving the capabilities and lowering the cost of government and
commercial space activities.

"These technology demonstration missions will improve our communications, navigation
and in-space propulsion capabilities, enable future missions that could not otherwise be
performed, and build the technological capability of America's space industry," said
NASA Chief Technologist Bobby Braun at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Optical
communication will enable rapid return of the voluminous data associated with sending
spacecraft and humans to new frontiers. High-performance atomic clocks enable a level
of spacecraft navigation precision and autonomous operations in deep space never before
achieved, and solar sails enable new space missions through highly efficient station-
keeping or propellant-less main propulsion capabilities for spacecraft."

The proposals selected for demonstration missions are:
-- Laser Communications Relay Demonstration, David J. Israel, principal investigator at
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
-- Deep Space Atomic Clock, Todd Ely, principal investigator at the California Institute
of Technology/NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
-- Beyond the Plum Brook Chamber; An In-Space Demonstration of a Mission-Capable
Solar Sail, Nathan Barnes, principal investigator at L'Garde Inc., of Tustin, Calif.

Technology Demonstration Missions are a vital element in NASA's space technology
maturation pipeline. They prove feasibility in the environment of space and help advance
innovations from concept to flight and use in missions. The advances anticipated from
communications, navigation and in-space propulsion technology will allow future NASA
missions to pursue bolder and more sophisticated science, enable human missions beyond
low Earth orbit, and enable entirely new approaches to U.S. space operations.

The Laser Communications Relay demonstration mission will fly and validate a reliable,
capable, and cost-effective optical communications technology. Optical communications
technology provides data rates up to 100 times higher than today's systems, which will be
needed for future human and robotic space missions. The technology is directly
applicable to the next generation of NASA's space communications network. After the
demonstration, the developed space and ground assets will be qualified for use by near-
Earth and deep space missions requiring high bandwidth and a small ground station
reception area.

The Deep Space Atomic Clock demonstration mission will fly and validate a
miniaturized mercury-ion atomic clock that is 10-times more accurate than today's
systems. This project will demonstrate ultra-precision timing in space and its benefits for
one-way radio navigation. The investigation will fly as a hosted payload on an Iridium
spacecraft and make use of GPS signals to demonstrate precision orbit determination and
confirm the clock's performance. Precision timing and navigation is critical to the
performance of a wide range of deep space exploration missions.

The Solar Sail demonstration mission will deploy and operate a sail area 7 times larger
than ever flown in space. It is potentially applicable to a wide range of future space
missions, including an advanced space weather warning system to provide more timely
and accurate notice of solar flare activity. This technology also could be applied to
economical orbital debris removal and propellant-less deep space exploration missions.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is collaborating with NASA and
L'Garde Inc. on the demonstration.

The clock and solar sail will be ready for flight in three years. The optical
communications team anticipates it will take four years to mature the technology for
flight. NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist plans to make a total investment in these
three missions of approximately $175 million, contingent on future appropriations. Each
of the selected teams also will receive funding from partners who plan on using the
technologies as part of future space missions.

Projects include all elements of the flight test demonstration including test planning,
flight hardware, launch, ground operations, and post-testing assessment and reporting.
Each team has proposed between one and two years of spaceflight operations and data
analysis. To reduce cost, the technology demonstrations will ride to space with other
payloads aboard commercially provided launch vehicles. Launches are anticipated in
2015 and 2016.

The Technology Demonstration Missions program is managed by NASA's Office of the
Chief Technologist. For more information about the program, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/oct .

JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

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