JSC R5: Developing a low-cost on-orbit technology demonstration and free-flying inspection platform
The R5 Project is pioneering a new lean approach to small spacecraft missions to quickly and cheaply demonstrate technologies, mission concepts, and more. The cost to orbit for small spacecraft has dropped dramatically over the last decade. This has enabled new, higher-risk missions. These missions can accelerate immature technologies to on-orbit demonstrations, enabling them to be infused more quickly and cheaply into larger missions. This presentation will briefly overview the evolution of small spacecraft at JSC, the exploration of this new approach, and the future it might enable.
Sam works in the GNC Autonomous Flight Systems Branch at Johnson Space Center. Sam has worked on various projects, including Morpheus/ALHAT, Commercial Crew, Orion, and Seeker. Sam is currently the Project Manager for the R5 Project, which endeavors to pioneer faster and lower-cost capabilities for technology demonstration in LEO. Sam is also the Chief Engineer for the SPLICE Project, which is focused on closing gaps in precision landing and hazard avoidance capabilities with a near-term focus on lunar applications. Sam would love to connect with you to explore collaborations related to precision landing and hazard avoidance, in-space inspection, vision-based navigation, mid-lift-to-drag ratio rigid-body entry vehicles, expanding the use of COTS components in space, and more.
Program Partner and Moderator
About the Speakers:
Montgomery B. Goforth has over 30 years of experience as both an Engineer and Manager in various highly technical space and defense-related efforts. He joined NASA in 1990 as part of the Mission Operations Directorate, working on planning systems and automated procedure execution tools for the International Space Station (ISS). He became Deputy Project Manager for the Portable Computer System, the laptop used for command and control of the ISS, in 1996. He became Chief of the Branch responsible for all laptops onboard the ISS and the Space Shuttle.
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