Technology Roadmap for the Development of an Orbital Smallsat Factory
Matthew B. Obenchain, Jacob Rome, Chris Hartney, Kelvin Chen, Alejandro E. Trujillo, Arianna Villegas, Vinay K. Goyal, Jon Strizzi, Deneen Taylor
Abstract
The United States Space Force (USSF) and NASA are seeking game-changing technologies that will enhance in-space capabilities. These technologies must enable on-demand services such as orbital transfer, maneuvering, capability enhancement, life extension, refueling, repair, debris removal, manufacturing, and assembly. These services can be enabled by assembling and manufacturing a spacecraft on-demand in an orbit rather than terrestrially. Identifying pathways to collaboratively advance enabling technologies will be critical to ensuring that these goals are achieved. This paper describes a multidisciplinary effort to build a technology roadmap that will result in an orbital smallsat factory in the 10-year timeframe. The factory concept is built around key enabling technologies such as hybrid additive manufacturing, which employs fused filament fabrication, laser soldering, and wire embedding. Relative technological and manufacturing readiness for insertion into the factory are also evaluated. Pathways for collaborative development are also identified to advance these technologies over the next 3 to 4 years. While the factory is focused at smallsat manufacturing, this foundational work can be scaled up to enable manufacturing of even larger spacecraft systems.