Sun, Dec 04, 2011
Selected by NASA to Explore Applications In Spacecraft
Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. says it is one of five
companies that will develop mission concepts for demonstrating
solar electric propulsion in space, important for NASA's future
deep space human exploration missions. The five companies were each
awarded study contracts up to $600,000.
Ball will work with NASA to define a mission concept that will
demonstrate the solar electric propulsion technologies,
capabilities, and infrastructure required for sustainable,
affordable human presence in space.
"Moving payloads reliably and cost effectively from low Earth
orbit to high-energy orbits is critical for deep space human and
robotic exploration and relies on the systems engineering expertise
(for which) Ball is known," said Cary Ludtke, vice president of
Ball's Civil and Operational Space business unit. "In addition to
solar electric propulsion and power-related advanced technologies,
Ball has broad capabilities on deep space missions, as well as
spaceflight systems engineering and integration, including modular
design implementation."
The efficiency of solar electric power-based propulsion can
deliver the large amounts of logistics support equipment required
for deep space human exploration within an executable launch
infrastructure.
The mission concept studies will identify technology gaps and
look at innovative technical solutions for transportation using
solar electric propulsion systems. NASA will use the studies to
plan and implement a future flight demonstration mission that will
test and validate key capabilities and technologies.
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