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NASA’s Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator-4 Confirms Success of New Solar and Communications Technology

NASA has successfully reviewed the initial flight data and images from the Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator-4 (PTD-4) mission, confirming that the spacecraft’s systems, including its onboard electronics and payload support systems, are functioning correctly. A test image captured by PTD-4’s onboard camera shortly after the spacecraft achieved orbit illustrates its operational capabilities. This camera will continue to document the mission’s technology demonstration.

The primary goal of the PTD-4 mission, which is now in the payload operations phase, is to showcase a novel power and communications technology designed for future spacecraft. Central to this mission is the Lightweight Integrated Solar Array and anTenna (LISA-T), a deployable solar array equipped with an integrated antenna. LISA-T has begun to deploy its central boom structure, which is crucial for supporting four solar power and communications arrays, referred to as petals. The deployment of the central boom is intended to move the stowed petals nearly three feet (one meter) away from the spacecraft’s bus. Currently, the mission team is navigating initial hurdles to ensure the boom extends fully before the petals unfold and commence operations.

Deep space missions utilizing small spacecraft have increased power needs that existing technologies struggle to meet. LISA-T’s four-petal solar array is a thin-film construction that reduces weight and stowed volume while tripling the power output per unit mass and volume compared to conventional solar arrays. This mission incorporates key demonstrations of the deployment, functionality, and environmental survivability of the thin-film technology.

Dr. John Carr, deputy center chief technologist at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, emphasized the significance of the LISA-T experiment: “This initiative represents a vital step for NASA and the small spacecraft community, improving the deployment and functionality of thin-film, flexible solar and antenna arrays in space. Enhancements like these are essential for achieving high-value scientific objectives and expanding exploration capabilities in deep space.”

The Pathfinder Technology Demonstration missions utilize a commercial platform to test groundbreaking technologies aimed at enhancing small spacecraft capabilities. The deployment of flexible, lightweight non-metallic structures like LISA-T’s solar array poses unique challenges in the space environment. Conducting trials on smaller, cost-effective spacecraft allows NASA to manage risks while aiming for high rewards. The overarching goal of the LISA-T experiment is to facilitate future deep space missions by improving data acquisition and communication through advanced power generation integrated within a single array.

PTD-4 is currently facilitating the in-orbit demonstration of the LISA-T technology. The spacecraft was deployed into low Earth orbit from SpaceX’s Transporter-11 rocket, launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on August 16. The LISA-T technology and its associated avionics system were developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, while the overall Pathfinder Technology Demonstration mission series is funded and managed by NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology program, based at Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. The spacecraft bus, named Triumph, was engineered and constructed by Terran Orbital Corporation based in Irvine, California.

For more detailed information on NASA’s LISA-T technology, additional resources and insights are available.

Source
www.nasa.gov