Description: The safe disposal of a space vehicle upon mission completion is necessary to preserve the utility of high-value orbits. Vestigo Aerospace is developing the Spinnaker product line of dragsails, sized to provide deorbit capability for host vehicles ranging from microsatellites to launch vehicle stages. The goal of the NASA SBIR Phase II Extended (Phase II-E) effort is to establish and exercise the manufacturing process that will be utilized for the production of commercial dragsail units. Building upon the design and prototyping activities performed during the Phase II investigation, the Phase II-E effort will result in a fully validated manufacturing approach, positioning Vestigo Aerospace for Phase III commercialization. The work plan for the Phase II-E effort is organized into five objectives. Objective 1 is the establishment of manufacturing infrastructure, consisting of the manufacturing facility and capital equipment. Through Objective 2, the end-to-end manufacturing process will be established and fully exercised, leading to readiness for commercial production of Spinnaker dragsail units. Additive manufacturing of selected structural components will be the third objective of the Phase II-E investigation. The fourth objective for Phase II-E is to develop the commercial documentation for the Spinnaker product line, including interface control documents (ICDs) and specification sheets for each dragsail configuration. The final objective for Phase II-E is to establish the Commercialization Plan that will guide the Phase III commercialization process.

Benefits: Every NASA satellite and launch vehicle that is delivered to low-Earth orbit must have an approved plan for timely deorbit upon mission completion. Current NASA programs that can benefit from reliable dragsail technology include the Space Technology Mission Directorate Small Satellite Technology Program, and technology developed within the NASA Earth Science Technology Office. The Science Mission Directorate's Earth Venture missions can also utilize Spinnaker dragsails for deorbit and targeted reentry capability.

The Spinnaker product line is targeted to space vehicles with a mass of up to 1,000 kg operating in the altitude range of 500 - 800 km. Vestigo Aerospace will market its dragsail systems to AFRL, DARPA, NOAA, small satellites, and launch providers. Planned satellite mega-constellations represent a target market of thousands of units, providing long-term growth potential for dragsail systems.