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Langley Research Center (LaRC)

Location: Hampton, Virginia | Role in SST: Enabling technology development (ADCS, imaging) SST projects as lead org: 2

Last updated: 2026-04-14 (session 11)

SST Projects

SST Project Technology TRL Period Status Outcome
106813 — Precision ADCS Miniature CMGs + enhanced star tracker 3→5 2013-10 → 2015-09 Completed transitioned (academic)
91371 — COxSwAIN Compressive Sensing Compressive sensing imaging/nav for CubeSats 3→5 2013-10 → 2016-04 Completed no-visible-outcome

Integrated Precision ADCS [106813]

Developed an integrated attitude determination and control system combining enhanced star tracker technology (precision knowledge during rapid slews) with second-generation miniaturized control moment gyroscopes (CMGs) that could operate in both CMG-mode (rapid retargeting) and reaction wheel-mode (precision pointing).

PI: Norman Fitz-Coy (University of Florida) Partner: University of Florida (Gainesville, FL) TX: TX17.2.3 Navigation Sensors Destinations: Moon and Cislunar, Earth, Others Inside the Solar System Outcome path: Closed Out (Sep 2015)

Downstream: SwampSat Flight

Norman Fitz-Coy led the University of Florida Space Systems Group, which subsequently flew SwampSat — a CubeSat demonstrating a pyramidal configuration of CMGs for precision three-axis attitude control. SwampSat was the first CubeSat to demonstrate CMG-based attitude control in orbit, orbiting at 600–650 km altitude.

The SST-funded precision ADCS work (2013–2015) directly informed SwampSat's CMG technology. Fitz-Coy published on "Design Considerations for Miniaturized Control Moment Gyroscopes for Rapid Retargeting and Precision Pointing of Small Satellites" at the Utah Small Satellite Conference (July 2014) — during the SST project period.

Confidence: suggestive — The SST ADCS project and SwampSat share the same PI, institution, and technology (miniaturized CMGs). The exact contribution of SST funding to SwampSat is not documented in TechPort, but the technology lineage is clear.

Assessment

This project follows the Academic TRL Ceiling archetype: university-PI-led work reaching TRL 5, with downstream impact through academic channels (publications, student training, follow-on missions) rather than commercial products. The Fitz-Coy→SwampSat pathway is one of the stronger examples of SST academic technology actually flying.

COxSwAIN: Compressive Sensing for Advanced Imaging and Navigation [91371]

A new imaging architecture applying compressive sensing and computational imaging to reevaluate imaging system design under CubeSat power and bandwidth constraints. The team demonstrated ground-based and balloon-flight imaging systems at CubeSat-scale power/bandwidth budgets.

PI: Richard Kurwitz (Langley Research Center) Partner: Texas A&M University (College Station, TX) TX: TX08.1.1 Detectors and Focal Planes Destinations: Earth

What Was Novel

Compressive sensing performs compression during acquisition (via matrix multiplications on the satellite) rather than after capture, dramatically reducing the data that must be transmitted. This addresses the critical bottleneck of CubeSat downlink bandwidth.

What Happened

The project reached TRL 5 through ground-based and balloon-flight demonstrations. No follow-on flight mission materialized. No NTRS publications found at LaRC for this specific project. The compressive sensing approach has been picked up by other groups (Georgia Tech, academic labs) but without a traceable connection to COxSwAIN.

Outcome: no-visible-outcome | Confidence: confirmed

Institutional Pattern: Early-Era Enabling Technology

Both Langley SST projects date to the 2013–2016 early era of the SST program and share characteristics:

  • Enabling technologies, not missions. Neither project aimed to fly a spacecraft. Both developed component-level capabilities (ADCS, imaging) that would enable future small spacecraft missions.
  • University partnerships. Both projects partnered with universities (UF, Texas A&M), consistent with LaRC's strong academic collaboration tradition.
  • TRL 3→5 ceiling. Both reached TRL 5 (lab validation) but neither progressed to TRL 6+ (relevant environment). This follows the academic TRL ceiling pattern seen across SST.
  • No follow-on SST projects. Unlike ARC (16 projects across the portfolio lifecycle) or MSFC (iSat → GPDM continuity), LaRC did not receive additional SST funding after these early-era projects.

Why LaRC Didn't Continue in SST

LaRC's institutional strengths (atmospheric reentry, aerodynamics, materials) don't align strongly with the SST program's focus on smallsat bus technologies, propulsion, and communications. The 2013–2016 projects may have been exploratory "casts" that didn't develop into sustained research lines within SST.

Note: ACS3 (Advanced Composite Solar Sail System, 95595), which deployed its solar sail in orbit in August 2024, is often associated with Langley but its SST lead org is Ames Research Center. LaRC may have contributed materials/structures expertise, but ACS3 is counted under ARC in the SST portfolio.

NTRS Publications

No LaRC-center NTRS publications found for either SST project. The COxSwAIN work produced one NTRS citation (20160001623) attributed to the project, authored by Kurwitz.

Cross-references

Sources: TechPort projects 106813, 91371; web search (Norman Fitz-Coy SwampSat CMG); NTRS search (COxSwAIN citation 20160001623).