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In four years, NASA plans to return astronauts to the Moon as part of Project Artemis. To ensure the success of this effort, as well as the creation of a sustainable lunar exploration program by the end of the decade, NASA has partnered with multiple entities in the commercial space sector. They recently announced that 14 additional companies will be awarded contracts to develop a range of proposed technologies.
These proposals are part of NASA’s fifth competitive application for Tipping Point, one of many public-private partnership programs overseen by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). For this last request, Tipping Point is awarding contracts worth a combined value of more than $ 370 million for technology demonstrations that will facilitate future lunar missions and commercial space capabilities.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced the selections on Wednesday, October 14.th, during a keynote address at the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium virtual fall meeting. As he explained during the course of the speech, the 14 companies selected by Tipping Point will be awarding fixed price contracts of up to five years for the development of technology demonstrations.
In addition to the award money, selected companies will also be able to work with the various NASA centers to mature their technology demonstrations. As Bridenstine said in a recent NASA statement:
“NASA’s significant investment in innovative technology demonstrations, led by US companies small and large in nine states, will expand what is possible in space and on the lunar surface. Together, NASA and industry are developing a variety of mission-ready capabilities to support a sustainable presence on the Moon and future human missions to Mars. “
Technology demos are divided into three categories based on the area of study. These include Cryogenic fluid handling, which relates to technologies that prevent fuel loss due to evaporation (also known as “evaporation”) and ensure that lunar ice samples remain stable. These technologies are essential to establish a sustainable presence on the Moon and enable manned missions to Mars.
Within this category, four companies received contracts and awards totaling more than $ 256 million. Florida-based Eta Space received $ 27 million for its small-scale flight demonstration of a complete cryogenic liquid oxygen (LOX) management system. This system will be the primary payload for a Rocket Lab Photon satellite and will spend nine months in space collecting vital data on cryogenic fluid management.
Lockheed Martin, a major aerospace contractor and NASA veteran, received $ 89.7 million for a demonstration mission in space that would test more than a dozen cryogenic fluid management systems. Similarly, the commercial space titan SpaceX will receive $ 53.2 million to conduct a large-scale flight demonstration where 10 metric tons (US tons) of LOX will be transferred between tanks in one of its Starship vehicles.
Lastly, prime contractor United Launch Alliance (ULA) will receive $ 86.2 million to demonstrate its cryogenic smart propulsion system. This system will be integrated into the upper stage of Vulcan Centaur rockets in the future, will be based on a combination of LOX and liquid hydrogen and will perform various tests (such as pressure control, tank-to-tank transfer, and long-term). propellant storage).
For the second category, Lunar Surface Innovation InitiativeNASA is awarding more than $ 100 million in contracts for technologies that will promote in situ resource utilization (ISRU). This includes applications that can provide surface power generation, energy storage, communications, and other capabilities that are vital to ensuring basic needs for crews and facilitating human and robotic exploration on the Moon.
Among the ten recipients are robotics developers such as the Alpha Space Test and Research Alliance, which received $ 22.1 million for its space science and technology assessment facility, which will give small experiments access to the lunar environment. Similarly, Intuitive Machines received $ 41.6 million to develop a hopper landing vehicle capable of transporting 1 kg (2.2 pound) payloads for distances over 2.5 km (1.5 miles).
Mojave-based Masten Space Systems received $ 2.8 million to build and demonstrate a universal chemical heat and electrical power source that can operate in the extreme temperatures of the lunar night and in craters. And SSL Robotics (a subsidiary of Maxar Technologies) received $ 8.7 million to develop a robotic arm for applications on the lunar surface, in-orbit service, and ground defense.
In terms of power generation and storage, Astrobotic Technology received $ 5.8 million for a wireless charging system for commercial robotic landers; Ohio-based PH Matter received $ 3.4 million for its reversible, regenerative fuel cell capable of generating and storing energy on the lunar surface; and Nokia of America received $ 14.1 million to fund the development of the first LTE / 4G lunar communications system.
For fuel systems, Precision Combustion Inc. received $ 2.4 million for a solid oxide fuel cell stack that generates power from methane and oxygen propellants and other on-site resources. The Sierra Nevada Corporation (makers of the Spacepalen Dream Chaser) also received $ 2.4 million to develop a system that uses methane and concentrated solar energy to extract oxygen from the lunar regolith.
And Teledyne Energy Systems was awarded $ 2.8 million to create an advanced hydrogen electrical system that could result in fuel cells with a 10,000-hour lifespan. Under the terms of its contract, Teledyne will send a key element of the system (water separator) on a parabolic flight to assess how it fares under different degrees of gravity, with particular attention to the effects of microgravity.
Third, there were the contracts that fell into the Closed-loop descent and landing capability category, which deals with the development of integrated precision landing and hazard prevention technologies. Only one contract was awarded here, again to Masten ($ 10 million) for its Xogdor vehicle, which will provide suborbital flights at altitudes of more than 100 km (62 miles) to test space technologies.
In addition to the prize money, each of these 14 companies is tasked with contributing a minimum percentage of the total cost of the project (depending on its size). Said Jim Reuter, NASA associate administrator for space technology:
“This is the largest number of Tipping Point proposals that NASA has selected at one time and by far the largest collective prize value. We are excited to see that our investments and collaborative partnerships generate new technologies for the Moon and beyond, while benefiting the commercial sector.“
Ultimately, most of the funding for this application from Tipping Point goes to the development of cryogenic fluid management systems, ranging from small to large scale testing and short to long term. This illustrates the importance that NASA and other space agencies are placing on the ability to produce fuel from ice collected around the Moon’s polar regions.
The ability to break down water molecules to create liquid oxygen (LOX) and hydrogen fuel, store them at cryogenic temperatures for extended periods of time, and transfer them from tank to tank, is crucial to establishing sustainable operations on the Moon. Along with infrastructure such as the Lunar Gateway, Artemis Base Camp and other proposed surface facilities, they will also facilitate manned missions to Mars.
Further reading: NASA, NASA (2)
