Busek Co., Inc.
Who it subcontracts to
No subawards reported under its lunar awards.
Who it works for
1.0 PROGRAM MANAGEMENT BUSEK, THE PROPULSION SYSTEM PROVIDER, SHALL MANAGE THE PROPULSION SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT. THE BUSEK PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR (PI) SHALL BE DR. MICHAEL TSAY. HIS EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS CAN BE FOUND IN THE ATTACHED RESUME. THE PI SHALL MANAGE ALL ASPECTS OF THE TECHNICAL, BUSINESS, SUBCONTRACTS AND ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS OF THE PROGRAM INCLUDING THE BUDGET AND SCHEDULE TO ENSURE A SATISFACTORY COMPLETION OF THE PROGRAM ON TIME AND WITHIN BUDGET. THE PI SHALL WORK CLOSELY WITH MSU AND THE ENTIRE LUNAR ICE CUBE TEAM AND PARTICIPATE IN ALL TECHNICAL INTERCHANGE MEETINGS, REVIEWS AND CORRESPONDENCE. 2.0 PROPULSION SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS AND SPECIFICATIONS BUSEK SHALL DEVELOP THE PROPULSION SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS AND SPECIFICATIONS. WORKING WITH THE TEAM, BUSEK WILL DEFINE THE PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS, FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS, INTERFACE REQUIREMENTS (MECHANICAL, THERMAL, ELECTRICAL, HARNESSING, COMMAND AND DATA HANDLING, AND FAULT MANAGEMENT) AND QUALITY ASSURANCE REQUIREMENTS. 2.1 PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS BUSEK SHALL DEFINE THE PROPULSION SYSTEM PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS. THE REQUIREMENTS WILL BE DERIVED FROM A MISSION MANEUVERING PLAN THAT WILL INCLUDE A SPECIFIED 𝛥V BUDGET AND SPACECRAFT DRY MASS. PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATIONS SHALL BE DEFINED FOR EACH PROPULSION SUBSYSTEM COMPONENT INCLUDING THRUSTER/CATHODE, TANK, POWER PROCESSING UNIT, DIGITAL CONTROL UNIT, AND MANIFOLD/FEED SYSTEM. 2.2 FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENT BUSEK SHALL DEFINE THE FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PROPULSION SYSTEM INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO MECHANICAL, THERMAL, ELECTRICAL, HARNESSING, COMMAND AND DATA HANDLING, OPERATING MODES, SOFTWARE, FIRMWARE AND FAULT MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS. 2.3 INTERFACE REQUIREMENTS BUSEK SHALL DEFINE THE PROPULSION SYSTEM INTERFACE REQUIREMENTS INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO MECHANICAL, THERMAL, POWER, GROUNDING, DATA BUS, AND COMMAND AND TELEMETRY DATA STRUCTURES. THE INTERFACE REQUIREMENTS SHALL BE DEFINED TO SUFFICIENT DETAIL TO ALLOW DETAILED DESIGN, MANUFACTURING AND TEST TO SUCCESSFULLY OCCUR. 3.0 PROPULSION UNIT DESIGN AND ANALYSIS BUSEK SHALL DEVELOP A PROPULSION SYSTEM CONCEPT DESIGN AND BEGIN PERFORMING RISK REDUCTION ACTIONS WHERE NEW TECHNOLOGIES OR DESIGNS INTRODUCE POTENTIAL RISK FOR MISSION SUCCESS. THE MAJOR PROPULSION SUBSYSTEM COMPONENTS INCLUDE THE POWER PROCESSING UNIT (PPU), TANK AND FEED SYSTEM, THRUSTER & CATHODE, STAGE GIMBAL, AND DIGITAL CONTROL INTERFACE UNIT WITH SOFTWARE. SHALL OPTIMIZE THE DESIGN OF THE PPU BASED ON CURRENT BREADBOARD HARDWARE AND DESIGNS. INCLUDED IN THIS DESIGN WILL BE THE RADIO FREQUENCY (RF) GENERATION CIRCUITS, GRID HIGH VOLTAGE CIRCUITS, CATHODE CIRCUIT AND FEED SYSTEM/TELEMETRY CIRCUITS. A PATH TOWARD A RADIATION TOLERANT PPU AND CRITICAL COMPONENTS SELECTION WILL BE IDENTIFIED. CRITICAL BREADBOARD ELECTRONICS WILL BE FABRICATED AND TESTED AS RISK REDUCTION STEPS. INITIAL THERMAL ANALYSIS WILL BE PERFORMED AS A BASELINE CASE. 3.2 STORAGE & FEED SYSTEM BUSEK SHALL OPTIMIZE THE DESIGN OF THE IODINE STORAGE AND FEED SYSTEM FOR THE BIT-3 RF ION THRUSTER AND CATHODE. THE MAJOR COMPONENTS OF THIS SYSTEM ARE THE STORAGE TANK, THE FEED LINES WITH INTEGRATED HEATERS, AND THE VALVE. THE UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BIT-3"™S HEATED, SOLID IODINE FEED SYSTEM NECESSITATES A RIGOROUS THERMAL ANALYSIS AND SIMULATION. BUSEK WILL FABRICATE CRITICAL BREADBOARD COMPONENTS OF THE IODINE STORAGE AND FEED SYSTEM AND TEST AS RISK REDUCTION TASKS.
LUNAR POLAR HYDROGEN MAPPER
Lunar awards as prime
| Award | Description | Period | Obligated |
|---|---|---|---|
| NNX15CC90C | IGF::OT::IGF BUSEK, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MOREHEAD STATE UNIVERSITY (MSU), PROPOSES TO DEVELOP A VERSATILE 6U CUBESAT CAPABLE OF REACHING A LUNAR ORBIT FROM GEO. THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF THE PHASE II EFFORT IS TO DEMONSTRATE A COMPLETE, MINI ION PROPULSION SYSTEM THAT PROVIDES ~3000SEC ISP HERETOFORE UNAVAILABLE TO CUBESATS, WITH A SOLID-STORABLE IODINE PROPELLANT. THIS TYPE OF PROPULSION TECHNOLOGY WOULD BE A HUGE MISSION ENABLER AND IDEAL FOR VOLUME-LIMITED SATELLITES SUCH AS CUBESATS. THE 6U BUS, COMBINED WITH ION PROPULSION, HAS ALREADY SHOWN BEING HIGHLY ATTRACTIVE TO SCIENCE PAYLOAD DEVELOPERS TARGETING THE UPCOMING SLS/EM-1 LUNAR MISSION. DURING PHASE I BUSEK SUCCESSFULLY DEMONSTRATED THE WORLD'S FIRST IODINE-FUELED GRIDDED ION THRUSTER BIT-3. KEY PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF BIT-3 INCLUDE A COMPACT DESIGN ENVELOPE (<2U VOLUME), NOMINAL 60W CONSUMPTION, HIGHLY-THROTTLEABLE THRUST OF ~1.4MN, AND ISP UP TO 3200SEC (NEARLY IDENTICAL AS WITH XENON). BIT-3 HAS A UNIQUE ADVANTAGE OF BEING IODINE-COMPATIBLE DUE TO ITS PLASMA GENERATION MECHANISM AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL. THE ABILITY TO USE IODINE AS PROPELLANT IS A TRUE GAMECHANGER FOR CUBESAT PROPULSION, BECAUSE IODINE CAN BE STORED AS A DENSE SOLID (AT 4.9G/CC) AND ITS SUB- TORR STORAGE PRESSURE ENABLES VERY LIGHTWEIGHT, EVEN PLASTIC TANKS. WITH A MERE 300CC IODINE TANK ONBOARD, THE BIT-3 THRUSTER IS CAPABLE OF PROVIDING>2.8KM/S DELTA-V TO A 6U/12KG CUBESAT. THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF THE LUNARCUBE PROGRAM IS TO UNDERTAKE A MISSION TO THE MOON FROM GEO OR A TRANSLUNAR TRAJECTORY (SUCH AS THE EM-1 DROP-OFF) THAT WOULD DEMONSTRATE THE PROPULSION SYSTEM, AND CARRY OUT A LUNAR SCIENCE PROGRAM AS A CAPABILITY DEMONSTRATION OF THE PLATFORM. DURING THIS MISSION, A RELATED GOAL IS TO DEMONSTRATE THAT MUCH OF THE SPACECRAFT'S MINIATURE ELECTRONICS, PRIMARILY C&DH, COMMUNICATIONS, AND THE PROPULSION SYSTEM'S PPU CAN BE BASED ON LOW COST COMPONENTS AND SURVIVE THE HARSH DEEP-SPACE ENVIRONMENT. | 2015-09-17 → 2021-03-31 | $2.0M |