Gravitics Partners with NASA to Develop Verification and Validation Approaches for Large Orbital Spacecraft

Gravitics has entered into a Space Act Agreement (SAA) with NASA; with the focus on providing engineering consultation to develop advanced verification and validation methods for large orbital spacecraft.

The collaboration is set to address one of the space industry's most pressing challenges: the qualification of large-diameter structures for next-generation launch vehicles.

The qualification testing of spacecraft involves rigorous procedures, including thermal, vacuum, vibration, and acoustic tests. These are critical to ensure spacecraft can withstand the harsh conditions of launch and space environments, particularly for long-duration missions.

Traditionally, these methodologies have been tailored for payloads up to 4 meters in diameter. However, the advent of new vehicles such as ULA’s Vulcan, Blue Origin’s New Glenn, and SpaceX’s Starship, which can support payloads as large as 8 meters in diameter, necessitates new approaches to certification.

Gravitics is at the forefront of this innovation, offering a spectrum of space infrastructure products. Their offerings range from structures as compact as 3 meters to commercial space station modules nearing 8 meters in diameter. The larger modules, specifically those in the 6-meter and 8-meter class, are the primary focus of this new partnership with NASA.

Through the SAA, NASA and Gravitics aim to develop verification and validation approaches tailored for these expansive structures.

"It is time to build bigger...I am optimistic that the qualification and validation solutions being pioneered by Gravitics will be used across the industry from 6 to 8-meter diameter payloads and beyond." - Colin Doughan, CEO of Gravitics.

About Gravitics

Founded in 2021, Gravitics, Inc. is a cutting-edge aerospace company specializing in the design and manufacture of large space structures. Their portfolio includes pressurized space station modules, which serve as the foundational elements for scalable space platforms. Gravitics is dedicated to ushering in a new era of human and robotic utilization of low Earth orbit and beyond.