Re-injecting Innovation into the Space Test Process

The U.S. Space industry is losing market share to the International community, both in the launch vehicle and satellite fabrication marketplaces. Although many argue that this is due to restrictive export controls, this paper presents the concept that the erosion of innovation in the U.S. Space Industry has caused this downturn in U. S. market share. As U.S. space programs have grown in scope and cost, the capacity to accept risk as part of the development process has diminished. As a result, the U.S. Space industry is experiencing erosion in innovation, the foundation of our national security and space commerce leadership for the past four decades. To restore and regain lost market share, we must develop rapid access to space for testing of new ideas and must couple these efforts to hands-on university programs in space technologies that will train future U.S. space technologists. This paper summarizes findings on an innovative approach to using dedicated pico-satellite (CubeSat) space test capabilities for low-cost and regularly scheduled component testing. Schafer Corporation and Stanford University’s Space Systems Development Laboratory (SSDL) were awarded a contract in August, 2000 by the National Reconnaissance Office / Office of Space Launch (NRO/OSL) to investigate new, evolutionary and revolutionary approaches to facilitate low-cost space testing opportunities. The contract and study are entitled "Proactive Rideshare Opportunity Brokering Services (PROBS)". This paper is based on the interim findings of the PROBS study.