Description: NASA’s recently selected Solar Cruiser Technology Demonstration Mission is already benefiting from the innovative research and technology being developed under NeXolve’s Phase 2 SBIR. Under this contract, Processes and Mechanisms are being developed to fabricate, fold, and package very large solar sails with footprints much larger than the manufacturing space. The primary product of this research is NeXolve’s fabrication and fold mechanism which can produce sail quadrants. As of April 29, 2021, the mechanism has achieved the Solar Cruiser flight-scale footprint (75ft x 20ft). Trials are underway to vet sail transport and backer removal. Fold assist scale-up is underway. NeXolve recently demonstrated processes and mechanisms (sail transport, backer removal, and fold-assist) during fabrication a flight-like 1/16th scale quadrant, now part of the 4 quadrant Solar Cruiser Brassboard. The proposed Phase 2 Enhancement will further technology readiness by continuing design and analysis of the Solar Cruiser (SC) Sail Quadrant (SQ) development, using the fabrication and folding mechanism to manufacture the SC SQ Engineering Development Unit (EDU), supporting a ground deployment test. A “value added” product of the proposed EDU work is the timely vetting of the SC design and manufacturing processes. The staggered SQ fabrication approach allows simultaneous fabrication of 2 quadrants, but at different stages. Thus, SC SQ EDU development is an enabling schedule activity for the timely fabrication of the SC SQs. Furthermore, the SC SQ EDU development activity was cited in the Solar Cruiser Concept Study Report (CSR) and is within the planned scope of both the Phase II SBIR and Solar Cruiser program. These proposed innovative developments (processes and mechanisms) are all crucial to achieve near term readiness thus reducing both technical and programmatic risks of the proposed near-term SC solar sail mission and other missions requiring very large deployable arrays.

Benefits: Sail Quadrant (SQ) development of NASA’s Solar Cruiser (SC) is a near term NASA application. SQ design and analysis will support SQ CDR, system PDR, and system CDR (July 2021, Nov 2021, Sep 2022). Development of the SC SQ Engineering Development Unit (EDU) will vet the SQ fabrication, folding, and packaging processes and mechanisms. Deployment testing will support system verification. NASA’s 7000m2 High Inclination Solar Mission (HISM) is another large solar sail mission that will benefit from this design, fabrication, and packaging technology.

Drag Sails are a class of solar sails with an emerging market. NeXolve currently fabricates drag sails with areas <5m2. We have at least 4 drag sail customers. The ability to modulate deorbit for a targeted re-entry, is an emerging application for this technology. More and larger satellites will benefit from the sail design, fabrication, fold, and packaging technologies being developed.