Low Cost Rapid Response Spacecraft, (LCRRS) A Case Study in Small Satellite Cost Optimization for Government and Commercial Use

STEVEN SPREMO; JESSE BREGMAN; CHRISTOPHER DALLARA; SHAKIB GHASSEMIEH; JAMES HANRATTY; EVAN JACKSON; CHRISTOPHER KITTS; PETE KLUPAR; MICHAEL LINDSAY; IGNACIO MAS; NICHOLAS MATTEI; DAVID MAYER; EMMETT QUIGLEY; MICHAEL RASAY; AARON SWANK; ADAM TALCOTT; JEROEN VANDERSTEEN; ZION YOUNG

San Diego, CA

Congreso; AIAA SPACE 2008 Conference and Exposition; 2008

AIAA

The Low Cost Rapid Response Spacecraft (LCRRS) is an ongoing research developmentproject at NASA Ames Research Center (ARC), Moett Field, California. The prototypespacecraft, called Cost Optimized Test for Spacecraft Avionics and Technologies (COTSAT) is the first of what could potentially be a series of rapidly produced low-cost satellites. The LCRRS research system design incorporates use of COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf),MOTS (Modified Off The Shelf), and GOTS (Government Off The Shelf) hardware for a remote sensing satellite. The COTSAT team is committed to realizing the goal of building a fully functional spacecraft for $500K parts and $2.0M labor. The ambitious project development cycle includes producing a flight qualified version by December 2008. Although the concept of low-cost development is initially met with skepticism from some within the aerospace industry, the project's eorts have been highly praised for the accomplishments met within a limited time and budget.