ARGO SPACE CORP — National Aeronautics and Space Administration SBIR Phase I: Z8

Description

Argo Space Corp. is developing the Argonaut, a highly reusable small spacecraft transfer vehicle with large amounts of deltaV that captures payloads on-orbit. The massive growth in small satellites and cislunar activity is driving an urgent need for affordable and reliable in-space transportation. The Argonaut offers affordable and dependable transportation through the introduction of true in-space reusability for propulsive in-space vehicles, from the choice of propellant to the docking mechanism.The Argonaut is propelled by Argorsquo;s water-fed microwave electrothermal thruster (MET) and leverages existing common launch vehicle interfaces to simplify orbital docking and capture operations for client spacecraft. This MET enables use of readily storable water propellant with both a low thrust, high efficiency plasma mode and a low efficiency, higher thrust steam mode. By using water as propellant, the Argonaut increases the safety of transport, ground handling, and launch operations while also simplifying in-space propellant storage and management. Additionally, water propellant can be refueled through in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) on the lunar surface to support Americarsquo;s permanent human presence there. Initial Argonauts are designed to transport small spacecraft from CubeSats up to ESPA-class from low Earth orbit (LEO) to lunar orbits, but future iterations will scale in capability to transport payloads up to 10 metric tons.Argonautrsquo;s unique mechanical spacecraft capture system requires no additional hardware installation on or pre-launch integration with client spacecraft. Launch vehicles with limited payload capacity to LEO need to maximize their useful payload delivered to orbit, and this new capability extends the reach of small launch vehicles and enables new mission architectures. The unique combination of our vehicle#39;s reusability and efficiency is designed to make in-space transport abundant and affordable throughout cislunar space and beyond.