SBIR Phase II: Integrated propulsion solution to enable reusable upper stages of space vehicles

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The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project is the development of reusable rockets that are designed to fly to space daily, delivering satellites directly to their final orbit at order-of-magnitude lower costs. Fully reusable launch vehicles will relieve three key elements of customer pain: price, availability, and service. These disruptive changes are needed to make a new frontier of proposed in-space solutions commercially viable. This proposed solution may provide internet access to un- and under-served populations and the ability to monitor Earth systems, combat climate change, and produce energy. Space assets may additionally provide the ability to track, predict, and ultimately control the environment. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project develops a new technology that enables space launch vehicles to reenter the atmosphere and land propulsively so that they may be reused. This capability has long been sought but remains unproven due to the combination of high efficiency propulsion, robust thermal protection, and low structural mass required for upper stage reuse. The technical hurdles lie in finding a solution for reentry thermal protection that can withstand the stressing environments of rocket engine operation and atmospheric entry while also being low-weight and low-cost and not requiring maintenance between flights. The goals of the proposed research and development are to continue to develop the heat shield concept identified in Phase I, building a full-scale prototype and testing it in environments that simulate both the operating conditions during the ascent phase of flight and the hypersonic phase of flight during atmospheric reentry. This testing will be conducted in several phases with increasing complexity. The test data from each phase will be used to iterate the design and converge on an acceptable solution, reducing the development risk of the novel heat shield architecture prior to an orbital flight attempt.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.