May 2015
SSRC was selected to develop a Detector Evaluation Module (DEM) for the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). The DEM concept was developed by SSRC in response to a NASA SBIR to support the development of advanced detector technology at the Goddard Space Flight Center. The NAVY is also interested in advanced detector systems and shares similar needs with NASA. (more…)
The ISS-CREAM Payload has been shipped to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for launch.
The ISS-CREAM payload was shipped from GSFC to KSC. This is a major milestone for the project that concludes the long and arduous task of environmental testing at GSFC. The payload development teams will meet the payload at the Space Station Processing Facility for functional checks and a tour of the Space-X integration facility & LC-40. (more…)
SSRC presented NASA with a three-year Instrument and Technology Development (ITD) program to develop miniature EUV solar radiometers and advance the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of the existing state of the art. With the successful selection of the SSRC proposal, miniature EUV radiometers based on zone plate technology will be designed, optimized, fabricated, calibrated, and made available for spaceflight applications. (more…)
SSRC has been selected to investigate the performance and validation of the LYRA instrument onboard the PROBA-2 spacecraft. LYRA (LYman alpha RAdiometer) is an ultraviolet irradiance radiometer that observes the Sun in four passbands, chosen for their relevance to solar physics, aeronomy and space weather. PROBA-2 is the second of ESA’s “PRoject for OnBoard Autonomy” spacecraft.
The goal of the proposed research is to enhance the specification, characterization, and understanding of solar EUV irradiance and its variability as observed by the LYRA instrument.
March 2012
The Space Systems Research Corporation is excited to announce the start of the MIGHTI program at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. SSRC has been asked to provide program management support for the Michelson Interferometer for Global High-resolution Thermospheric Imaging (MIGHTI) instrument.
MIGHTI is a Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) instrument on the UC Berkeley led ICON Explorer Proposal submitted in response to the NASA Announcement of Opportunity (AO) NNH11ZDA002O issued by NASA HQ. ICON was selected by NASA HQ for Phase A development and evaluation as a potential future science mission.
SSRC is excited to announce that the joint ESA/NASA mission Solar Orbiter has been selected for implementation after the successful mission definition study phase. The Solar Orbiter Mission was initially selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) as one of six possible missions for industrial assessment in 2008. In 2010, ESA reduced the field to just three possible missions to enter the mission definition phase, of which only two would be selected to proceed (more…)
September 2011
The Space Systems Research Corporation has been selected to provide systems engineering and payload development support for the recently announced ISS-CREAM Mission, to be launched from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center (TNSC) and delivered to the International Space Station (ISS).
The ISS is an ideal platform for the CREAM quest to investigate the low fluxes of high-energy cosmic rays through 1015 eV total energy. Externally mounted to the ISS at the Japanese Experiment Modules Exposed Facility (JEM-EF) KIBO, the ISS-CREAM experiment will be able to explore the supernova acceleration limit of cosmic rays, the relativistic gas of protons, and electrons and heavy nuclei arriving at Earth from outside the solar system over a period of years. (more…)
ALEXANDRIA, VA — The Office of Naval Research has selected Space Systems Research Corporation (SSRC) of Alexandria VA to lead the systems engineering effort for the J-MAPS mission. SSRC has teamed with QinetiQ North America (QNA) of McLean, VA and Research Support Instruments (RSI) of Lanham, MD to provide varied programmatic and technical expertise to support the ONR Ocean Battlespace Sensing Science and Technology Department’s Joint Milli-Arcsecond Pathfinder Survey (J-MAPS) Program Office. SSRC and team members will provide services and support varied, evolving tasks as directed by ONR. These include but are not limited to tasks such as: providing technical expertise, fully supporting the development of program investment strategies, preparing acquisition documentation, preparing test plans and execution plans, tracking financial allocations, commitments, obligations and expenditures, and preparing draft briefing materials, reports and public release correspondence. (more…)
WASHINGTON — NASA has begun development of a mission to visit and study the sun closer than ever before. The unprecedented project, named Solar Probe Plus, is slated to launch no later than 2018.
The small car-sized spacecraft will plunge directly into the sun’s atmosphere approximately four million miles from our star’s surface. It will explore a region no other spacecraft ever has encountered. NASA has selected five science investigations that will unlock the sun’s biggest mysteries. (more…)
WASHINGTON — NASA and the European Space Agency have selected 10 proposals for science instruments to fly aboard a spacecraft that will study the sun from a unique vantage point in space.
The European-led mission, called the Solar Orbiter, will be positioned about one-fourth the distance Earth is from the sun. The location ultimately will enhance the ability for scientists worldwide to forecast space weather.