Ah, so they have a way to break apart and haul asteroid chunks around the solar system? Someone tell the Planetary Society that AstroForge solved the whole asteroid protection thing.
Quote from: high road on 01/31/2023 11:27 amAh, so they have a way to break apart and haul asteroid chunks around the solar system? Someone tell the Planetary Society that AstroForge solved the whole asteroid protection thing.Bingo. The asteroid baggers do not really have a proposed technique to despin a huge asteroid with a tiny spacecraft.
"AstroForge is now in 'a race against time' to complete the refinery checkouts and demonstrate the tech before they lose contact completely, which the company estimates could be three more months.
Our second mission will send our vehicle, Odin, to deep space to gather images of our target asteroid. This will be the first-ever deep space mission by a commercial company and the first to collect images of an M-type asteroid.The Odin vehicle failed vibration testing on March 12, 2024; the first natural frequency of the vehicle was significantly lower than expected and well below the SpaceX requirements to be certified to launch. We traced the root cause to a manufacturing defect in the baseplate, a large part of the structure made by one of our third-party vendors. The baseplate, where the propulsion tanks and thrusters are mounted, consists of a foam core sandwiched between carbon composite panels. The foam core was cracked in multiple places, leading to the off-nominal response seen in the vibration test. Vibration testing is strenuous on a spacecraft but safe by design when the design performs as expected; that's the point of the test. But when a vibration test goes off-nominal as ours did, all subsystems are potentially compromised and must be re-evaluated. With our newfound learnings from Mission 1, the AstroForge team performed a deep review of each system, rigorously comparing the as-built components to their design schematics and validation procedures. In that review, we identified damage to the propellant lines, harnessing that failed to meet NASA build standards, and discrepancies between schematics and the as-built avionics that dropped the performance margin in the communications system below our flight requirements. This spacecraft could not fly.There are times when a company has to make extremely difficult decisions. Decisions that will test the resolve and strength of the team. Decisions that could ultimately make or break the company. On April 2, 2024, the AstroForge team unanimously decided to accelerate the in-house design of our own vehicle, planned for Mission 3, to use right now. Up to that point, we had only been designing and building our own payload; all other parts of the Mission 2 spacecraft were designed and integrated by a third party. And at that point, there were only seven months left to launch. Seven months to design and build a bus from scratch, produce mission-specific avionics systems, find and procure long-lead components (typically longer than seven months by itself), pass rigorous full-system flight testing, work with our supplier Dawn to fix the propulsion system, and get licensed and certified with Range Safety, SpaceX, and the FCC. AstroForge prides itself on how quickly we can move. Our first mission from company inception to launch was 460 days. That was a toaster-sized Cubesat. This is a grossly larger 100kg mostly-custom vehicle, and we need to do it 50% faster, just 212 days. We're fast, but this was insane. It was also the right decision. AstroForge is an exciting place to work, where best-of-the-best engineers sink deep into solving world-class problems. We've assembled insane levels of talent, thoughtfulness, experience, technical savvy, and resolve to make insane-seeming tasks viable. It's the right time to bet on ourselves.It’s been a little over 3 months since we made our in-house-designed pivot; here’s where we are and what we still need to do:Define requirements and design the vehicle - COMPLETEDesign and manufacture primary structure - COMPLETEStructural and thermal analysis of the vehicle - COMPLETEProcure available components (solar arrays, reaction wheels, RF system) - COMPLETEDesign and fabricate mission-specific avionics (power distribution, flight computer, imager payload, onboard cameras, IO board) - COMPLETERepair and requalify propulsion system, in partnership with Dawn Aerospace - COMPLETEFCC License Application - COMPLETE End to end testing with 1 of 4 ground station sites - COMPLETEDesign, build, test, and qualify solar array deployment mechanism - COMPLETEDesign, implement, and test mission operations software - COMPLETEDesign, implement, and test core GNC algorithms - COMPLETEDesign, implement, and test subset of flight software systems and drivers - COMPLETEDesign, implement, and test backend infrastructure - COMPLETEDesign, implement, and test data analysis tools - COMPLETEDesign, build, and test flight harnesses - COMPLETEDesign, build, and integrate thermal systems - COMPLETEIntegrate and test the full Odin vehicle - COMPLETEVibration testing - IN PROGRESS Design, implement, and test representative Flatsat for HITL testing - IN PROGRESSMission design and trajectory optimization - IN PROGRESSAcceptance test mission-specific avionics - IN PROGRESSComplete flight software system and drivers - IN PROGRESSComplete GNC software and testing - IN PROGRESSComplete simulation environment in support of HITL testing - IN PROGRESSEnd to end testing with all ground station sites - IN PROGRESSTVAC testing - TODO HITL testing - TODOMission operations rehearsals - TODOShip to launch site - TODOLaunch integration - TODO Launch - TODO This list is long and exhaustive, and intentionally so, not only to highlight the monumental task at hand but to showcase the AstroForge team. We're on track, but we can't shy away from the fact that any new team building a new vehicle is a lot of risk. It's the right risk at the right time. And everything we learn on Mission 2 sets us up for an even better Mission 3. Introducing the new Odin vehicle. Same name, new vehicle, setting a new standard in aerospace to deliver the first commercial deep space vehicle in record time. LFG!
Milestones We have an ambitious plan for October, including: • Finalizing the mission sequences in the spacecraft’s flight software • Preparing for our next series of GNC and Flight Software tests • Mission operations training with the vehicle in the loop • Advancing our refinery testing and demonstrating high metal recovery rates from terrestrial ore samples
Huge news! We're beyond excited to welcome space industry legend Hans Koenigsmann as an advisor to our team! 💫 Hans began his career at the Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) at the University of Bremen, where he initially led avionics before managing the BremSat satellite mission. In 2002, he became SpaceX’s fourth technical employee, playing a pivotal role in shaping space exploration over the next two decades. As VP of Build and Flight Reliability, he oversaw countless successful launches, ensuring mission safety and reliability. His contributions earned him the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal in 2014, NASA’s highest honor for non-government individuals. Hans’ unparalleled expertise will be invaluable as we continue pushing the boundaries of space resource acquisition. The future of deep space exploration is built on the foundation laid by those who came before us, and we are honored to have their guidance. Welcome to the team, Hans! 💪
https://twitter.com/astroforge/status/1846969000246628630QuoteMilestones We have an ambitious plan for October, including: • Finalizing the mission sequences in the spacecraft’s flight software • Preparing for our next series of GNC and Flight Software tests • Mission operations training with the vehicle in the loop • Advancing our refinery testing and demonstrating high metal recovery rates from terrestrial ore samples
September brought insights into the potential terrestrial applications of our refinery, particularly in deep mining. We’re in discussions with major mining companies about our technology’s potential impact.Our key insight is that while terrestrial mines generate high throughput, they do so at high financial and process inefficiency costs. Many deep platinum group metal (PGM) mines struggle to operate profitably due to high extraction costs linked to ore grade and depth. Our refinery could be highly competitive, potentially cutting the industry average all-in-sustaining cost (AISC) by more than 90%. We’ll continue refining this technology and expect further clarity in the coming months.
AstroForge Discloses Target Asteroid For Flyby Prospecting MissionAstroForge plans to fly its Odin spacecraft by 2022OB5, a prospective M-type asteroid, on a space ore hunting mission that could launch as soon as February. The asteroid mining startup is to launch Odin mounted underneath Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 lunar lander mission, said Matthew Gialich, CEO and... [paywalled]
