In 2009, SBIR awarded the DSS team a Phase I and Phase II award, combined total of nearly $850,000, for ROSA research and development. Technology Developmentįollowing its first Air Force Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award, STMD’s SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program “kick-started” ROSA and were crucial in bringing the technology to fruition. Furthermore, the composite booms provide structural rigidity, capable of withstanding a dynamic environment, a range of frequencies, and debris or micrometeoroid collisions, providing reliability for long-duration missions. ROSAs use highly efficient solar cells, and future iterations will even experiment with concentrators to boost its performance. Performance: Despite being smaller than conventional solar arrays, ROSAs are high-performing, capable of producing more than 30 kilowatts per panel, depending on the size. Since a higher number of components affect reliability, using composite booms instead drastically reduces the likelihood of mechanisms jamming or motors failing to prevent deployment. In comparison, ROSA is autonomous and uses strain energy in composite booms – similar to stored energy in a spring – to self-deploy. Large solar arrays conventionally use a motor deployment system, requiring human interaction and huge electrical systems. ROSAs can be scaled down for small satellite applications or made incredibly large for deep space missions.ĭeployment: As Matt LaPointe, Redwire’s iROSA (ISS ROSA) technical director, said, they were looking for a simple composite boom deployment system. Additionally, ROSAs are scalable and modular as DSS created a flexible design that could meet various mission requirements. Size: ROSA is compact and rolls up like a carpet to be stowed for launch, making it more easily transportable while still maintaining a large surface area. Since standard designs yield solar panels that are rigid, large, heavy, and complex to operate, STMD recognized how ROSA could improve solar panel design. Size of the panels affects the cost of launch, while long-term reliability is needed to withstand the harsh environment of space, including temperature swings, radiation, and micrometeoroid impacts. However, solar panel designs are built around two key factors: size and reliability, which have been difficult to optimize. Most spacecraft use solar panels to harness the Sun’s continuous energy and provide power for various needs such as thermal and payload operations. The Sun is the largest power source in space, producing more power per second than humanity has consumed in the past 70 years. “You come up with a simple concept, but to get that to space, riding along that controlled explosion is what drives your design,” said Ken Steele, Redwire’s vice president of business development. DSS was acquired by Redwire in 2021, continuing ROSA’s infusion into both NASA and commercial missions. Since 2009, STMD has funded parts of DSS’s journey, from conceptualizing ROSA to its development, culminating in successful technology demonstrations, operational mission use, and other cutting-edge potential applications. ROSA is a technology of Redwire Space, originally developed by Deployable Space Systems (DSS) with the support from NASA STMD. Additionally, ROSA’s design has been integrated into commercial satellites. ROSAs are also powering deep-space exploration and scientific missions, such as the Double Asteroid Redirection Test and Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element. ROSAs recently installed aboard the International Space Station provide additional power to augment the existing power supply, supporting more cutting-edge scientific research. These arrays are a compact design, more affordable, and offer autonomous capabilities that can enhance a wide spectrum of scientific and commercial missions, from low-Earth orbit all the way to interplanetary travel. Roll-Out Solar Arrays (ROSA) are an alternative to existing solar array technologies. Standard solar arrays in space can be expensive, heavy, and often very complex to operate. They follow STMD-funded technologies from idea to use – illustrating how support from NASA drives innovation, development, demonstration, and commercialization of new technologies. Each impact story summarizes an STMD-enabled technology’s journey. NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) develops technologies through a community of entrepreneurs, researchers, and innovators to solve the nation’s toughest challenges and enable future NASA and commercial missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Technology Development | Infusion And Commercialization What Is An Impact Story? The Technology | The Challenge | The Advantage Rolling Out a Path to Future Space Travel
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