Description: Systima Technologies is teaming with the University of Washington to design, manufacture, and test a first-stage propulsion booster system and a picosatellite orbital deployer capable of mitigating hazards associated with propulsion-capable CubeSats. The total launch system seeks to deliver pico-satellites and/or smallsat 5-50 kg payloads into LEO, including an innovative hazard-mitigation picosatellite orbital deployer (SAF-POD) developed by Systima. This technology has the potential of increasing first-stage thrust, specific impulse, and total impulse during the initial boost phase of ascent. Phase I will include system analyses and trades to scope a feasible SAF-POD design that has the hazard containment necessary to allow for launches of propulsion-capable CubeSats as secondary payloads. As picosatellites develop greater capabilities the need to include propulsion systems grows, but there is currently no approved method for delivering hazardous CubeSats into orbit as secondary payloads per NASA safety requirements. The SAF-POD technology will be developed to operate as a light-weight CubeSat deployer that protects primary payloads from CubeSat hazards.

Benefits: With potential to increase the first-stage thrust, specific impulse, and total impulse, this technology will have broad applicability to many future NASA applications. NASA is heavily invested in the budding smallsat field, which gives a great number of small businesses, universities, and research organizations affordable access to space. Improved propulsion stages are critical to allow for launch of more smallsats, more often, and for a lower cost. NASA seeks to use the launch of small satellites targeted in this proposal for myriad applications including rendezvous and docking, in-space assembly CubeSats, critical inspections of primary assets (space telescopes, ISS, re-entry spacecraft, etc.), interplanetary missions, and formation flying. Most of these applications require in-space propulsion that is enabled through the proposed hazard mitigation picosatellite deployer SAF-POD. Upon qualification, the SAF-POD can be included on any CubeSat deployment mission, drastically increasing the launch options of CubeSats with propulsion stages or other hazardous features. Presently, most CubeSats are limited to LEO with no capability for orbit maintenance, collision avoidance maneuvers, or de-orbit disposal maneuvers.

With potential to increase the first-stage thrust, specific impulse, and total impulse, the proposed technology for smallsat launches will have broad applicability to many future military and commercial space applications. The military has a strong interest in CubeSat technologies for applications that improve battlefield communications, space weather monitoring to mitigate blackouts, and Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT). Additionally, the DoD is very interested in quick-turn "Operationally Responsive" space applications, which would benefit from the versatility provided by the improved first-stage propulsion and hazard-mitigation CubeSat SAF-POD deployer proposed for this project. Commercial space launches of smallsats have been on the rise in recent years, with launch services being provided by entities such as Spaceflight Services, ISL, and GAUSS. These companies are in a prime position to benefit from the launch and deployment technologies being developed in this program.