NASA Small Spacecraft Technology (SST) Program - Recent and Upcoming Technology Demonstrations and Development Efforts

The Small Spacecraft Technology (SST) program within NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, expands the ability to execute unique missions through rapid development and demonstration of capabilities for small spacecraft applicable to exploration, science and the commercial space sector.

Through targeted development and frequent in space testing, the program:

• Enables execution of missions at much lower cost than previously possible
• Substantially reduces the time required for development of spacecraft
• Enables new mission architectures through the use of small spacecraft
• Expands the reach of small spacecraft to new destinations and challenging new environments
• Enables the augmentation of existing assets and future missions with supporting small spacecraft.

The program achieves its objectives through:

• Identification and investment in the development of new subsystem technologies to enhance or expand the capabilities of small spacecraft
• Sponsorship of flight demonstrations of new technologies, capabilities and applications for small spacecraft
• Promotion of the use of small spacecraft as platforms for testing and demonstrating technologies and capabilities that might have more general applications in larger-scale spacecraft and systems

Technologies funded by the program that are key to advancing the utility and capability of small spacecraft were demonstrated in 2022 and 2023. Notable on-orbit demonstrations include the following.

• The Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment’s (CAPSTONE) navigation technology that was demonstrated for the first time in 2023 could provide autonomous onboard navigation information for future lunar missions, minimizing or eliminating human-in-the-loop mission operations.
• The optical communications technology also demonstrated in 2023 by the TeraByte InfraRed Delivery (TBIRD) payload that launched on Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator-3, achieved 200 gigabit per second (Gbps) throughput on a space-to-ground optical link between a satellite in orbit and Earth, the highest data rate ever achieved by optical communications technology.
• The precision laser pointing performance of NASA’s CubeSat Infrared CrossLink A (CLICK) spacecraft’s fine steering mirror control system was successfully demonstrated. This element of the laser communications system will be used to demonstrate two-way crosslink communication in low-Earth orbit by CLICK B/C anticipated to launch in late 2024.

Investments in subsystem technology development through funding to university, industry, and other government partners in a number of areas will be discussed. Among others, topic areas include propulsion, autonomous swarm technology, edge computing, and thermal control. Additionally, the status of the CubeSat-alternative platform, DiskSat, strategies for accelerating the demonstration of technology payloads via the Realizing Rapid, Reduced-cost high-Risk Research (R5) project, and the status of recently completed and upcoming on-orbit demonstrations will also be presented.