The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory awarded a contract to SpaceDev to develop miniaturized lower-cost avionics for small launch vehicles, the company said.
The $100,000 Small Business Innovation Research contract is intended to foster the development of advanced, lightweight systems for future generations of small, responsive space vehicles. SpaceDev estimates that the total mass of the avionics on a medium-size launch vehicle is up to 500 kilograms. If the mass of the avionics is reduced by 30 percent, roughly two more microsatellites could be launched on the same vehicle, the company said.
“SpaceDev engineers are very excited about this project because it leverages our work for the NASA and Missile Defense Agency microsatellites, and our microsat standardization contract with the Air Force Research Laboratory,” SpaceDev chairman and CEO Jim Benson, said in a statement. “This is one more small but crucial element in our long-term strategy to reduce the cost and turnaround time to launch spacecraft of all types.”
