NASA is collaborating with Eta Space of Rockledge, Florida, on an in\u2011orbit technology demonstration to advance a key capability for future deep space missions. The Liquid Oxygen Flight Demonstration, or LOXSAT, will test cryogenic fluid management technologies necessary for creating in-space propellant depots, essentially gas stations in space, that could support long-term exploration.<\/p>\n
During a nine-month mission, LOXSAT will demonstrate 11 cryogenic fluid management technologies. Eta Space built LOXSAT as part of a NASA Tipping Point<\/a> opportunity, and Rocket Lab is providing spacecraft and launch services to deliver it to low Earth orbit. The LOXSAT payload has been integrated with a Rocket Lab Photon satellite bus and will launch aboard the company\u2019s Electron rocket from Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand\u2019s Mahia Peninsula no earlier than July 17.<\/p>\n The technologies that LOXSAT will demonstrate were selected to address the core challenges of using cryogenic, or super-cold, propellants in microgravity, including reducing boiloff, transferring propellant, maintaining tank pressure, and gauging propellant levels. Data collected from these tests will support development of future in-space propellant depots that could refuel spacecraft as they journey to the Moon, Mars, or other deep space destinations.<\/p>\n NASA\u2019s LOXSAT team is composed of members of the Cryogenic Fluid Management Portfolio Project from NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, and Kennedy Space Center in Florida.\u00a0The cryogenic portfolio\u2019s work is part of NASA\u2019s Space Technology Mission Directorate<\/a> and includes more than 20 individual technology development activities.<\/p>\n To learn more, visit:<\/p>\n