NASA Phase I SBIR - 6 month contract, $150k (2022)

AVINA: Automated and Visually Interactive Navigation Analysis

We propose to design and provide one unified environment for navigation analysis that integrates and automates state of the art NASA software to abstract the complexity and manual nature of these tasks into a collaborative environment, coupled with interactive and visual support. Navigation analysis is a key step in mission planning as analysts must assess trajectory robustness toward various error sources. We propose to build a tool that performs navigation analysis by automatically determining the optimal number and the location of maneuvers as well as the type and amount of tracking data needed, and visualizes the data output in a user friendly, visual and interactive environment.

Continuum Space Systems is already building its cloud-based design platform for space missions from ideation to completion. The proposed innovation will build upon Continuum’s effort to expand the platform into an integrated mission design and navigation framework towards a fully unified design lifecycle and seamless transition to other key subsystems.

NASA Astrophysics Research and Analysis (APRA) – 3 year contract, partnership with JPL, $1.3M (2022 – 2025)

Mission Classes and Technological Advances in Orbit Determination and Clock Precision to Enable Space-Based Imaging of Supermassive Black Holes

This proposal targets algorithm and technology development to enable new missions designed to image event horizons of nearby supermassive black holes (SMBHs). SMBHs reside at the heart of most galaxies, and the evolution and growth of galaxies and SMBHs are thought to be closely linked. The international Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project has imaged M87*, the SMBH in the center of our own galaxy, and SgrA*. However, the Earth’s diameter constitutes a fundamental limit to the current EHT, and in order to image other supermassive black holes and understand their science return a space-based interferometer is needed. Find out more about this and other winning APRA proposals here.

SpaceWERX STTR – 5 month contract, partnership with the University of Alabama, $250k (2022)

Kessler Run: Scalable optimal multi-object rendezvous solutions for the sustainability of near Earth space

Kessler Run combines new tech (ASSET, a novel optimizer developed at the University of Alabama) with interactive and collaborative cloud design and ops platform (Continuum platform) to create an application layer that abstracts the complexity of formulating optimization problems for on-orbit servicing. A critical need to service (refuel, repair, remove, reposition) resident space objects (RSOs) at scale is emerging. Kessler Run efficiently computes optimal N-rendezvous solutions for single or multiple  assets to visit numerous RSOs towards rapid and responsive implementation addressing on-orbit object servicing.