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SpinSat Request for Information

The SpinSat Team at NASA Ames Research Center is seeking input for requirements of potential payloads to enable a spacecraft design that fully meets the needs of researchers. If you have a payload/experiment concept that could be accommodated on SpinSat, please provide us with a brief description of your overall objectives and science requirements, and if you are able, the requirements that your experiment will place on the platform. We ask that your response represent a specific experiment concept (i.e. not general envelope requirements); however, there is no need to provide precise experimental details, science aims, or any other competition-sensitive information. We are primarily seeking information relevant to interfaces and capabilities of the SpinSat platform. Providing us information on your requirements now will help us better ensure that SpinSat will ultimately meet the needs of your payload.

Please provide information in the following areas on your experiment concept:

1) A general overview of the topic area (e.g. “response of nematodes to lunar and Martian gravity” or “tolerance of extremophilic organisms to conditions relevant to interplanetary transfer” or “dynamics of regolith particles in lunar gravity”).

2) Physical size and dimensions of the payload. The initial version of SpinSat envisions accommodating experiments of the following configurations: 1U, 2U, 3U, 1x4U, 2x2U, 3x2U. Please describe your payload size in terms of U, or provide details if some other accommodation is necessary.

3) Approximate average and peak power (if known!)

4) Approximate data generation rate (if known!)

5) Desired environments.

  • What gravity level(s)? (Microgravity, lunar, Mars, multiple, a gradient…)
  • What radiation environment? (GCR, simulated lunar, simulated Mars, etc)
  • Any other forms of exposure to the space environment?
  • Is your experiment sensitive to vibrations, and at what level?
  • Do you require access to solar insolation?

6) Temperature ranges at which your samples will be maintained, and time periods for those temperature ranges (e.g. 4C stasis, 23C experiment).

Note: SpinSat cannot provide precise temperature control for each experiment; it will provide a baseline thermal environment to facilitate your payload’s temperature management, along with unregulated power for the experiment’s thermal control.

7) Overall timeline for pre-launch, launch, transit, and experiment.

  • Please note the maximum duration that your payload can last in the inactive state before experiment initiation, and any considerations (e.g. requirement for climate control or for power) that would interact with that.
  • What is the planned duration of your experiment?
  • Does it include multiple time points, with periods of inactivity (no active growth or measurement) in between? Please provide top-level description if so.

8) Timeline of payload hardware development.

  • Does your hardware already exist?
  • If not, approximately how many years of development are needed before flight?

9) Desire for multiple experiments

  • Would your concept benefit from being flown as a series of experiments on different flights? If so, please provide details on pacing and duration.

10) Unit cost

  • What costs for flight would your budget be able to accommodate?
  • Would this change if you required multiple flights?

11) Participation

  • Would you be willing to serve on a Science Advisory Team for SpinSat?

No solicitation exists. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on this website. Interested parties are responsible for monitoring this website for the release of any solicitation or synopsis.

All responses shall be submitted electronically via the SpinSat email: mailto:ARC-SpinSat@mail.nasa.gov

Please reference (SpinSat payload requirements) in any response. 

This synopsis is for information and planning purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government nor will the Government pay for information solicited. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation.