In space, mass matters.
"Mass is really what it's all about in aerospace, because it costs so much to put things into orbit.
So a lot of our technologies are about trying to reduce the mass of the structure."
At ATK Space Systems & Sensors, Inc. of Goleta, California, they know how critical an object's mass is.
Early on, the firm, formerly known as AEC-Able Engineering, developed a tennis racket and a spoiler for one of Steve McQueen's cars,
cars, but their strengths are in the aerospace industry.
Their first aerospace product was a coilable boom structure.
"What is so great about the Coilable is that it's so simple.
It's really a coiled spring that once you let it go, it deploys under its own power."
For sometime, ATK has been partnering with NASA on boom technologies for space-based applications.
Several of those technologies have been developed with funding from the
Agency's Small Business Innovation Research, or SBIR Program.
"The SBIRs have kind of looked at that same technology and seen how can we make it lighter
how can we make it more reliable; how can we make it stiffer-better-stronger--those kinds of things."
With a contract from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, or JPL, the firm developed a CoilABLE Elastic Lattice Deployable Boom
that could deploy to a certain length and maintain a very precise, as well as repeatable position.
JPL also awarded the company an SBIR contract to build a very precise
deployable mast capable of carrying higher mass payloads.
The technology is called ADAM for Able Deployable Articulated Mast.
With another SBIR award, the firm made significant modifications to ADAM to improve
its stability and twist functions, and ADAM-2 was created. ADAM-2 supported the radar
antenna instrument on NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission that collected global topographical data.
Advancing the Coilable technology even further, they've now developed an Ultra Lightweight Boom, called SAILMAST.
One of NASA's interests is for long duration missions that can stay in the same location for a long time to do observations.
SAILMAST may enable the required stability and performance.
It has been selected as a technology validation experiment for NASA's
New Millenium Programs Space Technology 8, or ST8, Mission.
Under SBIR contracts from Glenn Research Center, the firm developed a unique solar array system, known as "Ultraflex."
The Ultraflex system is extremely lightweight, low cost, and has compact stowage volume,
making it ideal for many spaceflight applications.
The firm's Next Generation Ultraflex Solar Array System has also been selected as a validation experiment on ST8.
The research and development funded through each SBIR award has
helped advance and ready these technologies for the upcoming mission.
"The SBIR program provides the basis for companies to be able to do the groundwork that allows them to propose in
competitions or future missions and for, in this case, I think, the SBIR probably helped them to get technology level four."
ATK pushes to develop and position its technologies for NASA's mission needs, including ST8.
"That's really what drove us to develop those technologies and use the SBIR program, which is so great, because it kind of starts
off with 'I've got something here that, its already something I am not starting from scratch,
its something and I think if I do this with it, I can turn it into something real.'"
The company is working with Langley Research Center to advance a Solar Sail technology
for NASA's In-Space Propulsion Program. And, one thing is key.
"Mass is really what it's all about.