Federal award (DELIVERY ORDER, fiscal year 2021)
Recipient: AI SOLUTIONS INC
Awarding agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration / National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Funding agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration / National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Period of performance: 2019-04-15 to 2022-09-30
Current total value of award: $403272.12
Description: THE PRIMARY MISSION FOR THE CUBESAT IS TO MEASURE THE TEMPERATURE OF A SMALL METALLIC OBJECT COATED WITH THE CRYOGENIC SELECTIVE SURFACE COATING IN SPACE. THESE ARE THE PRIMARY SCIENCE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CUBESAT SYSTEM. THE CUBESAT SHALL PROVIDE ADEQUATE SHIELDING FROM EARTHS ALBEDO RADIATION AND FROM THE HEAT GENERATED BY THE CUBESAT ITSELF USING SUCH THAT THE COATED SAMPLE IS NOT ADVERSELY HEATED.  THE CUBESAT SHALL INCLUDE A METHOD OF ATTACHING THE SAMPLE TO THE CUBESAT SUCH THAT MINIMAL HEAT IS CONDUCTED TO THE SAMPLE UNDER TEST. THE CUBESAT SHALL MAINTAIN ORIENTATION OF THE COATED SAMPLE TOWARD DEEP SPACE.  TWO TEMPERATURE SENSORS PER EACH SAMPLE WHERE ONE SHALL BE USED TO MEASURE THE SAMPLE TEMPERATURE LOCATED IN THE SMALL METALLIC OBJECT UNDER THE COATING AND THE OTHER SHALL BE USED TO MEASURE THE TEMPERATURE OF THE WALL AND STRUCTURE CLOSEST TO THE SAMPLE.  HUNDREDS OF PAPERS HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED ON DESIGNING SURFACES THAT REFLECT ONE WAVELENGTH RANGE WHILE ABSORBING ANOTHER IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE SIGNIFICANT TEMPERATURE INCREASES OR DECREASES OF THESE SURFACES IN SUNLIGHT. THE MAJORITY OF THIS WORK WAS DEVOTED TO ACHIEVING HIGH TEMPERATURES TO SUPPORT, FOR EXAMPLE, SOLAR FURNACE OPERATION, BUT A SIGNIFICANT PORTION WAS DIRECTED TO COOLING. COATINGS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED TO ALLOW A SURFACE IN SUNLIGHT TO COOL BELOW AMBIENT, BUT ATMOSPHERIC LIMITATIONS, INFRARED TRANSMISSION WINDOWS AND CONVECTIVE WARMING, PREVENT SIGNIFICANT COOLING. HOWEVER, HIBBARD, OF THE LEWIS RESEARCH CENTER, REALIZED THAT IN SPACE, AWAY FROM THESE ATMOSPHERIC LIMITATIONS, THAT SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER COOLING COULD BE ACHIEVED. SINCE THEN, A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TESTING HAS BEEN COMPLETED ON MANY DIFFERENT COATING MATERIALS. THE RESULTS OF THIS TESTING SHOW THAT WHEN COMBINED WITH MULTI-LAYER INSULATION TO SHIELD FROM EARTH RADIATION, IT SHOULD BE POSSIBLE TO PASSIVELY COOL A COMPONENT TO SIGNIFICANTLY LOW TEMPERATURES. THESE TEMPERATURES SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO PASSIVELY STORE CRYOGENS IN SPACE FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME.  CUBESATS RECENTLY HAVE BECOME POPULAR IN THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY.  CUBESAT IS A TYPE OF SPACECRAFT THAT TYPICALLY USES COMMERCIAL, OFF-THE-SHELF ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS IN A SCALABLE CUBESAT FORM FACTOR WITH A MASS OF ONE KG AND A VOLUME OF TEN CUBIC CENTIMETERS. THESE SMALL FORM FACTOR SATELLITES PROVIDE A LOW COST OPTION TO PERFORM SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND DEMONSTRATE NEW SPACE TECHNOLOGIES IN ORBIT. REMOVES UNOBLIGATED FUNDS FROM THIS COST REIMBURSABLE TASK ORDER (TO).