EL SEGUNDO, Calif., March 31, 2022 – The Aerospace Corporation’s (Aerospace) Atomic Planar Power for Lightweight Exploration (APPLE) technology, which can enable missions to the deepest parts of the solar system, was awarded a 2022 NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Phase II grant worth approximately $600,000.
Aerospace wins Nasa grant to develop paper-thin spacecraft concept that clears space debris
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8 June 2016
US-based technical and scientific research, development, and advisory services provider, Aerospace has secured a Nasa grant to develop Brane Craft, an extremely thin spacecraft concept that would wrap around space debris and remove it from Earth’s orbit.
The 1m² Brane Craft spacecraft model weighs around 50g and is less than half the thickness of a human hair.
Due to its size, the spacecraft is very lightweight, manoeuvrable and fuel-efficient.
The Brane Craft is one of 13 ideas that were selected for Nasa Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) programme, which provides $100,000 for nine months of research, with option for another $500,000 for two more years if the results are encouraging.