Request for Information: Science Mission Directorate (SMD) NASA Science/Technology Platform Satellite (NSTP-Sat)

1. Summary The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Science Mission Directorate (SMD) is soliciting inputs from the broad space science community including NASA Centers, industry, academia, and international partners in response to this Request for Information (RFI). The responses will assist NASA in planning for potential payloads on the NASA Science/Technology Platform Satellite (NSTP-Sat) with a possible launch to low earth orbit, geostationary equatorial orbit, medium Earth orbit , Earth–Moon L1, or lunar orbit in the 2021 timeframe.
2. Background The NSTP-Sat is a spacecraft platform that has become available to NASA as excess Government property through an interagency agreement. It is based on a Boeing GEO spinner bus as shown in Figure 1. NASA is considering launching the NSTP-Sat launch in the 2021 timeframe on a NASA-procured launch service or on the Space Launch System Exploration Mission-2 launch vehicle as a co-manifested payload (CPL). This RFI is intended to collect information for use by NASA to determine the feasibility of, and potential options for, payloads on NSTP-Sat. Figure 1 – Boeing GEO Spinner Bus

NSTP RFI-2 The following are notional NSTP-Sat schedule milestones; these timeframes are for planning purposes only and subject to change: • ATP – Payload selection and authority to proceed (ATP) • ATP + 4 months – Systems Requirements Review (SRR) • ATP + 11 months – Preliminary Design Review (PDR) • ATP + 19 months – Critical Design Review (CDR) • ATP + 31 months – Start Payload Integration (I&T) • ATP + 33 months –Start System/Environmental Tests • ATP + 34 months – Pre Ship Review • ATP + 35 months to ATP + 43 months - Margin • ATP + 44 months – NSTP-Sat delivery to launch site; start of Launch Vehicle integration • ATP + 50 months – NSTP-Sat planned launch date
Potential NSTP-Sat payload classes and accommodations include the following: • Hosted Payload (HP) – Remote sensing payload(s) manifested on the despun structure of the Boeing bus. A view of the despun structure is shown in Figure 2. • Technology Demonstration Payloads – Technology demonstration payloads that meet one of NASA’s 15 technology roadmaps. • EELV Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA)-Class Spacecraft – The primary objective of this RFI is to collect information on potential hosted payloads or technology demonstrations, but there is potential for an ESPA ring under the spacecraft. Inputs for utilizing an ESPA or an ESPA-Grande class spacecraft are welcome. • Commercial collaboration – Industry is invited to suggest mutually beneficial Government-commercial partnerships that take advantage of the bus capabilities.
Figure 2 - Existing Despun Structure

NSTP RFI-3 NOTE: CubeSat concepts for NSTP are not requested in this RFI. A call may be issued in the future for CubeSats through the NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) process. Information regarding CSLI can be found at