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- Hi, I'm Roger Hunter.
I'm the program manager
for NASA Small Spacecraft Technology program.
What does a small spacecraft technology program do?
We develop the next generation technologies
that NASA will use on its future science
and exploration missions, which will use small spacecraft.
NASA has always been a forward leaning
and forward thinking organization.
But before we talk
about those next generation small spacecraft technologies,
let's talk about our history.
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This is PhoneSat, one of our very first small spacecraft,
very simple in design and in fact,
it used the inside of an Android phone for its processor
and a measuring tape for its antenna,
but we've gotten more sophisticated in the way
that we build our small spacecraft now
and we started to look at lasers as a means
of transmitting data from the spacecraft to the ground.
This is Optical Communications and Sensor Demonstration,
two spacecraft that actually used a laser to send data
and information from the spacecraft to the ground.
We're getting better and the scientists love that.
(calm music)
As NASA continues its Technology Administration
for Small Spacecraft, we continue with ISARA,
the Integrated Solar Array and Reflectarray.
This particular spacecraft showed KA band communications
for the first time from a very small spacecraft.
And then we continue with a new mission called PTD
or Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator.
A series of buses this size, half of each one reserved
to test a new type of product,
whether it's a communication system, a new propulsion
system, or a new avionic system.
And now we move on to yet another laser comm system.
This one is called CLICK.
There are two missions, CLICK A and CLICK B/C.
CLICK A is a risk reduction mission
in which we show optical comm from another spacecraft
to ground but with CLICK B/C we show optical comm
between two spacecraft.
Now let's talk about the future.
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NASA has always been interested in green technologies
and there's nothing greener than sunlight.
This is the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System
and when this launches and deploys on orbit,
you will see 81 square meters of a new solar sail material,
which we can then use to move beyond low earth orbit,
out into cislunar space and beyond interplanetary space
but we're working on
more than just new propulsion technologies
that use clean sunlight, we're working on technologies
that will allow us to build
and assemble large structures in space in the future.
What you're seeing here is CPOD,
the CubeSAT for Proximity Operations and Docking.
When these two are launched and get on orbit,
they will autonomously find each other
and then do self docking.
Think of the promise of that.
You can now demonstrate the technologies that will allow you
to build large structures and large apertures in space.
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NASA spacecraft technology is picking up the pace.
The democratization of space now realizes that more
and more countries are launching spacecraft.
NASA is keeping up.
We're also developing a technologies for the future
so that we can further our science exploration needs.
We have to keep up the pace
because everybody is participating in space now.
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Humankind has had a sustained presence in space
for over 20 years with the International Space Station.
Now the International Space Station of course,
operates in low earth orbit,
but we want to sustain our presence beyond low earth orbit.
We're going back to the moon.
NASA is designing and developing Gateway,
our new space station that's gonna operate and orbit
between the earth and the moon,
called a near-rectilinear halo orbit.
Capstone is gonna go there to prove that that orbit is
as mathematically stable as we think it is,
but we're not stopping there.
We're going on to the moon.
We're gonna put boots on the moon again.
And our science is going to ensure our future in space.
To paraphrase The Martian,
we're going to science the hell out of it.
The small spacecraft are going to be part
of that future, small spacecraft are going
to help realize the dreams and ambitions that we have.
Our future is inextricably tied to space
and we are just beginning the adventure.
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