Trans Astronautica Corporation
Who it subcontracts to
No subawards reported under its lunar awards.
Who it works for
ACTIVITIES YEAR 1: " ESTABLISH SUBCONTRACT WITH COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES FOR OMTB TESTS. " REVIEW NEW DATA FROM THE HAYABUSA 2 MISSION TO RYUGU AND THE OSIRIS-REX MISSION TO BENNU TO ASSESS WHAT CHANGES NEED TO BE MADE TO SIMULATED ASTEROID SURFACE MATERIALS. " CONDUCT OMTB TESTS WITH LATEST CLASS ASTEROID SIMULANTS. " PROTOTYPE C-TYPE ASTEROID SIMULANTS WITH SURFACE STRUCTURE BASED ON LATEST MISSION RESULTS. " CONSULT WITH CO-I JEDICKE ON ASTEROID SURFACE EVOLUTION. " REPORT ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR SSERVI PERIODIC REPORTS. ACTIVITIES YEAR 2: " CONDUCT OMTB TESTS WITH LATEST CLASS ASTEROID SIMULANTS. " WORK WITH THE EXOLITH LABORATORY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW SIMULANT MORPHOLOGIES. " CONDUCT OMTB TESTS WITH C-TYPE ASTEROIDS SIMULANTS WITH SURFACES STRUCTURE BASED ON LATEST MISSION RESULTS. " ATTEND THE EXPLORATION SCIENCE FORUM TO REPORT RESULTS. " WORK WITH CO-I JEDICKE ON LATEST RESULTS FOR ASTEROID SURFACE PROCESSES. " REPORT ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR SSERVI PERIODIC REPORTS. ACTIVITIES YEAR 3: " PREPARE AND PUBLISH A JOURNAL PAPER. " CONDUCT OMTB TESTS WITH LATEST CLASS ASTEROID SIMULANTS. " CONDUCT OMTB TESTS WITH C-TYPE ASTEROIDS SIMULANTS WITH SURFACES STRUCTURE BASED ON LATEST MISSION RESULTS. " ATTEND THE EXPLORATION SCIENCE FORUM TO REPORT RESULTS. " REPORT ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR SSERVI PERIODIC REPORTS. ACTIVITIES YEAR 4: " PREPARE AND PUBLISH A JOURNAL PAPER. " CONDUCT OMTB TESTS WITH LATEST CLASS ASTEROID SIMULANTS. " CONDUCT OMTB TESTS WITH C-TYPE ASTEROIDS SIMULANTS WITH SURFACES STRUCTURE BASED ON LATEST MISSION RESULTS. " CONDUCT OMTB TESTS WITH PHOBOS AND DEIMOS SIMULANTS. " ATTEND THE EXPLORATION SCIENCE FORUM TO REPORT RESULTS. " REPORT ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR SSERVI PERIODIC REPORTS.
Lunar awards as prime
| Award | Description | Period | Obligated |
|---|---|---|---|
| FA864923P0460 | SUTTER ALGORITHMS FOR CISLUNAR SPACE DOMAIN AWARENESS ON GROUND-BASED TELESCOPES | 2023-02-10 → 2024-10-12 | $1.2M |
| FA864923P0461 | SUTTER ALGORITHMS FOR CISLUNAR SPACE DOMAIN AWARENESS FROM SPACE-BASED TELESCOPES. | 2023-02-10 → 2024-11-12 | $1.2M |
| 80NSSC20K1027 | THE LUNAR POLAR MINING OUTPOST (LPMO) IS A BREAKTHROUGH MISSION ARCHITECTURE THAT PROMISES TO GREATLY REDUCE THE COST OF HUMAN EXPLORATION AND INDUSTRIALIZATION OF THE MOON. | 2020-06-01 → 2022-07-15 | $499K |
| 80NSSC18K0110 | PROBLEM DEEP SPACE HUMAN EXPLORATION IS UNAFFORDABLE: IN 2014 THE NASA ADVISORY COUNCIL ISSUED A FINDING THAT THE MISMATCH BETWEEN NASA S ASPIRATIONS FOR HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT AND ITS BUDGET FOR HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT IS THE MOST SERIOUS PROBLEM FACING THE AGENCY. SINCE THE TIME OF THAT ADVISORY NASA HAS CONDUCTED MANY MISSION AND SYSTEMS ANALYSES BUT HAS YET TO PUBLISH A SUSTAINED MISSION PLAN AND COST ANALYSIS THAT FITS WITHIN ANY BUDGET THAT CONGRESS WILL APPROVE. NASA S VISION OF HUMAN EXPLORATION REMAINS UNAFFORDABLE LARGELY DUE TO THE HIGH COST OF LAUNCHING LARGE QUANTITIES OF DRINKING WATER OXYGEN RADIATION SHIELDING AND ESPECIALLY ROCKET PROPELLANT FROM EARTH. SOLUTION: OPTICAL MINING OF ASTEROIDS PROVIDES AFFORDABLE MISSION CONSUMABLES AND RADIATION SHIELDING: AN EXCITING PROGRAM OF HUMAN EXPLORATION BEYOND LEO MIGHT INCLUDE AN OUTPOST AT THE TOP OF THE EARTH-MOON GRAVITY WELL OR ON THE SURFACE OF THE MOON; HUMAN EXPLORATION OF NEAR EARTH OBJECTS IN THEIR NATURAL ORBITS; AND/OR A SERIES OF HUMAN MISSIONS TO THE MARS SYSTEM. WATER OXYGEN PROPELLANT AND SHIELDING CAN BE MADE IN SPACE FROM RESOURCES KNOWN TO BE PLENTIFULLY AVAILABLE IN ASTEROIDS AND PROBABLY IN THE MARTIAN MOON DEIMOS. OPTICAL MINING TECHNOLOGY IS A BREAKTHROUGH APPROACH TO HARVESTING THESE MATERIALS FROM ASTEROIDS BOULDERS AND REGOLITH IN MICROGRAVITY. IN OPTICAL MINING EXCAVATING AND PROCESSING ASTEROID MATERIALS IS ACCOMPLISHED BY HIGHLY CONCENTRATED SUNLIGHT WHICH WE HAVE SHOWN CAN BE USED TO DRILL HOLES EXCAVATE DISRUPT AND SHAPE AN ASTEROID WHILE THE ASTEROID IS ENCLOSED IN A CONTAINMENT BAG. | 2017-10-19 → 2019-10-31 | $448K |
| 80NSSC19K0965 | THE LUNAR POLAR GAS-DYNAMIC MINING OUTPOST (LGMO) (SEE QUAD CHART GRAPHIC) IS A BREAKTHROUGH MISSION ARCHITECTURE THAT PROMISES TO GREATLY REDUCE THE COST OF HUMAN EXPLORATION AND INDUSTRIALIZATION OF THE MOON. LGMO IS BASED ON TWO NEW INNOVATIONS THAT TOGETHER SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF AFFORDABLE LUNAR POLAR ICE MINING FOR PROPELLANT PRODUCTION. THE FIRST INNOVATION IS BASED ON A NEW INSIGHT INTO LUNAR TOPOGRAPHY: OUR ANALYSIS SUGGESTS THAT THERE ARE LARGE (HUNDREDS OF METERS) LANDING AREAS IN SMALL (0.5-1.5 KM) NEARPOLAR CRATERS ON WHICH THE SURFACE IS PERMAFROST IN PERPETUAL DARKNESS BUT WITH PERPETUAL SUNLIGHT AVAILABLE AT ALTITUDES OF ONLY 10S TO 100S OF METERS. IN THESE PROSPECTIVE LANDING SITES DEPLOYABLE SOLAR ARRAYS HELD VERTICALLY ON MASTS 100 M OR SO IN LENGTH (LIGHTWEIGHT AND FEASIBLE IN LUNAR GRAVITY) CAN PROVIDE NEARLY CONTINUOUS POWER. THIS MEANS THAT A LARGE LANDER SUCH AS THE BLUE MOON VEHICLE PROPOSED BY BLUE ORIGIN A BFR; OR A MODESTLY SIZED LUNAR ICE MINING OUTPOST COULD SIT ON MINEABLE PERMAFROST WITH SOLAR ARRAYS IN PERPETUAL SUNLIGHT ON MASTS PROVIDING AFFORDABLE ELECTRIC POWER WITHOUT THE NEED TO SEPARATE POWER SUPPLY FROM THE LOAD. .THE SECOND ENABLING INNOVATION FOR LGMO IS RADIANT GAS DYNAMIC (RGD) MINING. RGD MINING IS A NEW PATENT PENDING TECHNOLOGY INVENTED BY TRANSASTRA TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF ECONOMICALLY AND RELIABLY PROSPECTING AND EXTRACTING LARGE QUANTITIES (1 000S OF TONS PER YEAR) OF VOLATILE MATERIALS FROM LUNAR REGOLITH USING LANDED PACKAGES OF JUST A FEW TONS EACH. TO OBVIATE THE PROBLEMS OF MECHANICAL DIGGING AND EXCAVATION RGD MINING USES A COMBINATION OF RADIO FREQUENCY MICROWAVE AND INFRARED RADIATION TO HEAT PERMAFROST AND OTHER TYPES OF ICE DEPOSITS WITH A DEPTH-CONTROLLED HEATING PROFILE. THIS SUBLIMATES THE ICE AND ENCOURAGES A SIGNIFICANT FRACTION OF THE VOLATILES TO MIGRATE UPWARD OUT OF THE REGOLITH INTO CRYOTRAPS WHERE IT CAN BE STORED IN LIQUID FORM. RGD MINING TECHNOLOGY IS INTEGRATED INTO LONG DURATION ELECTRIC POWERED ROVERS. IN USE THE VEHICLES STOP AT MINING LOCATIONS AND LOWER THEIR COLLECTION DOMES TO GATHER AVAILABLE WATER FROM AN AREA BEFORE MOVING ON. WHEN ON-BOARD STORAGE TANKS ARE FULL THE VEHICLES RETURN TO BASE TO EMPTY TANKS BEFORE MOVING BACK OUT INTO THE FIELD TO CONTINUE HARVESTING. THE ROVER CAN BE BATTERY OPERATED AND RECHARGE AT BASE OR CARRY A LASER RECEIVER POWERED BY A REMOTE LASER. BASED ON THESE INNOVATIONS LGMO PROMISES TO VASTLY REDUCE THE COST OF ESTABLISHING AND MAINTAINING A SIZABLE LUNAR POLAR OUTPOST THAT CAN SERVE FIRST AS A FIELD STATION FOR NASA ASTRONAUTS EXPLORING THE MOON AND THEN AS THE BEACHHEAD FOR AMERICAN LUNAR INDUSTRIALIZATION STARTING WITH FULFILLING COMMERCIAL PLANS FOR A LUNAR HOTEL FOR TOURISTS. .RGD MINING WILL ALLOW THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PRACTICAL SYSTEM THAT CAN BE CONSTRUCTED ON A MOBILE PLATFORM TO ENABLE THE USE OF A MIXTURE OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF RADIANT ENERGY WITH DIFFERENT PENETRATION DEPTHS TO CONTROL THE RELEASE OF WATER VAPOR FROM HARD LUNAR PERMAFROST IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT CAN BE TRAPPED AND CAPTURED BY A WATER COLLECTION SYSTEM. ALTHOUGH MICROWAVE EXTRACTION METHODS HAVE BEEN PROPOSED IN THE PAST THEY HAVE TYPICALLY REQUIRED PRIOR EXCAVATION OF SUBSTRATE MATERIAL OR DID NOT INCLUDE METHODS TO PREVENT RE-TRAPPING OF WATER BY COLD REGOLITH. BY USING A MULTI FREQUENCY RADIANT SYSTEM RGD PROVIDES A VARIABLE HEATING PROFILE THAT SUBLIMATES WATER VAPOR IN LAYERS FROM THE TOP DOWN AND ENCOURAGES EVOLVED WATER TO MIGRATE INTO CRYOTRAPS IN THE VEHICLE WHILE MINIMIZING REFREEZING OF THE WATER VAPOR IN THE SURROUNDING SUBSTRATE. THIS DESIGN COMBINES SUBSURFACE ICE PROSPECTING VIA LOW VOLTAGE DC SUBSURFACE SENSING INTEGRATED WITH TRL-6 DRILLS FOR DETECTION AND VOLATILE GAS COLLECTION IN A SINGLE VEHICLE. WE ESTIMATE THAT ROVERS SIZED FOR A NEW GLENN OR SLS PAYLOAD FARING WOULD MASS BETWEEN 2 AND 5 TONS AND WOULD EACH BE CAPABLE OF HARVESTING BETWEEN 20 AND 100 TIMES ITS MASS PER YEAR IN WATER. . | 2019-06-10 → ? | $125K |
| 80NSSC21C0415 | LUNAR WATER EXTRACTION TECHNIQUES AND SYSTEMS (LUNAR WETS) | 2021-05-19 → 2021-11-19 | $125K |
| 80NSSC21C0414 | SUN FLOWER: SYSTEMS DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY MATURATION OF A SUSTAINABLE LUNAR POWER GENERATION ARCHITECTURE | 2021-05-19 → 2021-11-19 | $125K |
| FA864923P0392 | FX22D-OTCSO1-0084 SUTTER(TM) SPACE TELESCOPE SYSTEM FOR CISLUNAR SPACE DOMAIN AWARENESS (SDA) | 2022-11-04 → 2023-02-04 | $75K |
| FA864923P0696 | WORKER BEE SOLAR-THERMAL SPACE VEHICLE FOR CISLUNAR MOBILITY AND LOGISTICS | 2023-05-05 → 2023-08-07 | $75K |