NIAC Award: Flat Fabrication of Progressively Self-Assembling Space Systems

NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC)
Phase I Award
Amount: $125,000

Flat Fabrication of Progressively Self-Assembling Space Systems

Davide Guzzetti
Auburn University

This project aims to study the feasibility of integrating an array of microchips with space satellite functions, or ChipSats, on a multifunctional shape memory polymer (SMP) bus that is capable of self-folding when exposed to solar radiation.

This technology may enable the flat fabrication of kilometer-sized antenna arrays for radio astronomy that self-transform into the operative configuration once in orbit.