19 Million Miles Away: Infusion of a Flight Tested Technology 

Enabling Deep-Space Communications

Scott Green

Danielle McCulloch

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/stmd-flight-opportunities/fo-resources/community-of-practice-webinars/

1

NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES

www.nasa.gov

NASA Flight Opportunities

Session will start at 10 a.m. PT – Please mute your microphone and turn off your camera

Community of Practice Webinar Series – March 6, 2024

Scott Green, Ph.D., Controlled Dynamics Inc.

Danielle McCulloch, NASA’s Flight Opportunities program

19 Million Miles Away: 

Infusion of a Flight Tested Technology Enabling Deep-Space Communications

1

NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES

Welcome to the Community of Practice Webinar Series!

First, a bit of housekeeping...

• Please mute your microphone and turn off your camera

• Today’s session will be recorded

• Recordings for this and all future sessions will be posted on the Flight 

Opportunities website

• Please engage!

• Use the chat throughout the session to ask questions

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19 Million Miles Away: Infusion of a Flight Tested Technology 

Enabling Deep-Space Communications

Scott Green

Danielle McCulloch

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/stmd-flight-opportunities/fo-resources/community-of-practice-webinars/

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NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES

Welcome to the Community of Practice Webinar Series!

Flight Opportunities hopes these webinars will enable researchers, 

program staff, and flight providers to connect informally and share 

information

• Designed to distill and share the most important lessons learned to:

• Increase the impact of suborbital flight tests

• Transfer best practices

• Optimize the experience of current and prospective program participants

• Part of a broad effort to capture, organize, and communicate lessons learned 

by suborbital researchers

• An opportunity to hear from subject matter experts on best practices for 

preparing for suborbital flight tests

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3

NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES

Join us for future Community of Practice webinars!

Subscribe to our newsletter for 

updates on future webinars!

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/fli

ghtopportunities/newsletter

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Future webinars

• Webinars are held 1st Wednesday of each 

month at 10 a.m. PT

• Topics will be announced in the Flight 

Opportunities newsletter and website

• Session recordings will be posted on the 

Flight Opportunities website

• Let us know session topics you would like 

to see covered

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19 Million Miles Away: Infusion of a Flight Tested Technology 

Enabling Deep-Space Communications

Scott Green

Danielle McCulloch

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/stmd-flight-opportunities/fo-resources/community-of-practice-webinars/

3

NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES

Today’s Speakers

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Dr. Scott Green

Principal Engineer | Co-Founder

Controlled Dynamics Inc.

Danielle McCulloch

Program Manager

NASA’s Flight Opportunities program

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NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES

www.nasa.gov

NASA Flight Opportunities

Community of Practice

March 2024 | Dr. Scott Green

6
19 Million Miles Away: Infusion of a Flight Tested Technology 

Enabling Deep-Space Communications

Scott Green

Danielle McCulloch

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/stmd-flight-opportunities/fo-resources/community-of-practice-webinars/

4

Controlled Dynamics Inc.

CDI’s Isolation Platform Technology Development

from Flight Opportunities to CASIS ISS to DSOC Tech Demo on Psyche

6 March 2024 Contact: sgreen@controlled-dynamics.com 7

77S Vibration Isolation Platform

9 sRLV flights

2012-2019

Programmable Isolation Mount

Operational on ISS Inc. 51/52

2017

Isolation & Pointing Assembly

DSOC Tech Demo on Psyche

2023-present

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Controlled Dynamics Inc.

1995 STABLE – World’s First Microgravity Isolation System

6 March 2024 Contact: sgreen@controlled-dynamics.com 8

Astronaut Fred Leslie operates

STABLE on STS-73/USML-02 mission

October 1995

Suppression of Transient Acceleration by 

Levitation (STABLE)

Developed at McDonnell Douglas by:

D.L. Edberg (Cal Poly Pomona)

J.T. Harduvel (Controlled Dynamics Inc)

D.J. Schenck (Controlled Dynamics Inc)

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19 Million Miles Away: Infusion of a Flight Tested Technology 

Enabling Deep-Space Communications

Scott Green

Danielle McCulloch

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/stmd-flight-opportunities/fo-resources/community-of-practice-webinars/

5

Controlled Dynamics Inc.

2012 Payload Isolation for Microgravity Research on sRLVs

6 March 2024 Contact: sgreen@controlled-dynamics.com 9

2012 sRLVs

Vibration Isolation Platform

• Goal: Affordable access to sustained μg environments

– TA-12: Microgravity Vibration Isolation

– TA-08: Instrument Pointing, Tracking, & Stabilization

• Approach: Free-floating isolation of research payloads 

on manned & unmanned sRLVs

– μg & μrad environments during freefall/coast

– Autonomous operation (power & moding)

– Suitable for sRLVs, parabolic flights, orbital vehicles

• Development Path:

– NASA Game Changing Opportunities contract

– Derivative of Shuttle-proven technology

– Mature through Flight Opportunities suborbital flights

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Controlled Dynamics Inc.

Developed an Assortment of Payloads for FOP sRLVs

6 March 2024 Contact: sgreen@controlled-dynamics.com 10

10
19 Million Miles Away: Infusion of a Flight Tested Technology 

Enabling Deep-Space Communications

Scott Green

Danielle McCulloch

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/stmd-flight-opportunities/fo-resources/community-of-practice-webinars/

6

Controlled Dynamics Inc.

Concept of Operations – SpaceLoft 7 Flight data

6 March 2024 Contact: sgreen@controlled-dynamics.com 11

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Controlled Dynamics Inc.

Flight Opportunities Suborbital Flights to Mature Tech 

6 March 2024 Contact: sgreen@controlled-dynamics.com

Vibration Isolation Platform (VIP)

SpaceLoft-7 June 2013

SpaceLoft-9 October 2014

Terrier/Orion 41.114 March 2016

Blue Origin Flight #3 April 2016

Blue Origin P6 July 2018

SpaceLoft-11 Sept 2018

SpaceShipTwo Dec 2018 & Feb 2019

Blue Origin P7 Jan 2019

10-1 100 101 102 10-6

10-5

10-4

10-3

10-2

10-1

100

101

Platform Acceleration per Base Acceleration (g/g)

Transmissibility, 141023PF_P2_SN002_10c_FlightData, 165-193sec

Frequency (Hz)

X

Y

Z

Predicted

Measurements match predictions

SL9

SS2 Flt2

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19 Million Miles Away: Infusion of a Flight Tested Technology 

Enabling Deep-Space Communications

Scott Green

Danielle McCulloch

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/stmd-flight-opportunities/fo-resources/community-of-practice-webinars/

7

Controlled Dynamics Inc.

SpaceShip2 Unity Flight 22 Feb 2019

6 March 2024 Contact: sgreen@controlled-dynamics.com 13

No evidence of crew motion on 

Isolation Platform (0.2mg-rms)

Can detect crew motion (Beth Moses) 

at Locker Base (~2mg-rms)

Platform

FreeFall on SpaceShip2 Unity flight 22 Feb 2019

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Controlled Dynamics Inc.

From Flight Opportunities to ISS with CASIS

6 March 2024 Contact: sgreen@controlled-dynamics.com 14

OpNom Programmable Isolation Mount

Call Sign Isolation Mount

HW Delivery 15 April 2016

Launch OA-5; 17 October 2016

Increment 51/52

Location Express Rack 7, Locker 5; U.S. Destiny Lab

Operational 2017 GMT 093 (install 4/3/17) to GMT 223 (removal 8/11/17); 130days

Return SpX-12; 18 September 2017

Mass 5.6kg (12.5lbs)

Dimensions 56x43x25cm (22”x17”x10”)

Power 16W nominal; 32W peek

Thermal Forced air to Avionics Air Assembly (AAA)

Data KU Forward to ground (no RIC interfaces)

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19 Million Miles Away: Infusion of a Flight Tested Technology 

Enabling Deep-Space Communications

Scott Green

Danielle McCulloch

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/stmd-flight-opportunities/fo-resources/community-of-practice-webinars/

8

Controlled Dynamics Inc.

Then on to Deep Space via SBIRs

6 March 2024 Contact: sgreen@controlled-dynamics.com 15

Phase I

Performance Analysis &

Component Testing

Key Parameters:

<0.5μrad (1s), 0.1-500Hz

<15W; <3kg

Payload from 3-50kg

>20krad TID

-30°C to 50°C

Feasibility Established;

Meet Requirements

Acquisition & Track

Demonstration

End-to-End POC Test

Phase II

Space Qualifiable Design

& Prototype Fabrication

Deliver Four

2-axis Strut Prototypes

Performance Testing &

Prototype Delivery

Phase II-X

OpCom Demonstration

Ø DSOC TRL-6 Demo

Ø DSOC FLT Design

Ø Risk Reduction

Mature Flight Design

for 16-Psyche Mission

Component Testing

Concept Development 2-axis Strut Prototype 6DOF Testbed

13Q2 14Q2 14Q3 16Q2 17Q1 18Q1

Phase III

16-Psyche Tech Demo

Ø Qnty 4 EM units

Ø Qnty 5 FM units

19Q4

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Controlled Dynamics Inc.

Deep Space Optical Comm Tech Demo on Psyche

• 16-Psyche Discovery Mission

– JPL Deep Space Optical Comm (DSOC) 

Technology Demonstrator

– CDI provides the Isolation & Pointing 

Assembly Struts (IPA-Struts) that point 

and stabilize the space terminal

• Milestones

– 06 March 2018 CDI Phs3 contract begins

– 07 April 2021 IPA-Strut deliveries to JPL

– 23 July 2021 DSOC on Psyche

– 13 Oct 2023 Launch on Space-X Heavy

– 30 Oct 2023 Commission DSOC

– 14 Nov 2023 First light (16Mkm; 10Mmi)

– 11 Dec 2023 ultra-high definition video @ 

267Mbps from 31Mkm (19Mmi)

– 06 March 2024 and beyond operating at 

>150Mkm; >93Mmi; >1AU

6 March 2024 Contact: sgreen@controlled-dynamics.com 16

https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24569

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19 Million Miles Away: Infusion of a Flight Tested Technology 

Enabling Deep-Space Communications

Scott Green

Danielle McCulloch

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/stmd-flight-opportunities/fo-resources/community-of-practice-webinars/

9

NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES

17 www.nasa.gov

Thank you! 

Flight Opportunities website: 

http://nasa.gov/flightopportunities

Contact us:

NASA-FlightOpportunities@mail.nasa.gov

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