Introduction
US researcher Danny Silva recently posted a link to a US government website which caught my interest. The government website was that of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, and the particular item which attracted my interest, was a semiannual report of the To The Stars Academy of Arts and Science Inc. (TTSA.) The report was for the semiannual period ended 30 June 2018.
The bulk of the document provides various financial statements about the TTSA. However, there were a couple more items there I thought worth mentioning:
1. "Advisory Board member Dr Garry Nolan resigned, effective August 31, 2018."
2. "We are in the process of evaluation and planning projects in the Aerospace and Science Division, in particular regards materials, an essential precursor to STME, and Beamed Energy Propulsion Launch Systems ("BELS.")"
As I was interested to see if there were any further details on these two projects, I was pleased to see that there were separate attachments about each of them. As I believe that few people will have bothered to go through the entire document, it may be that they will have missed these attachments, which are effectively contracts between TTSA and ETI for pieces of work.
First project
"Material Study - Set A (MSSA) Program |
| Dr Hal Puthoff who is heading the first project |
Statement of Work (SOW)
Directed to Earth Tech International Incorporated
August 16, 2018
Introduction/Background
The emergence of exotic materials has introduced the possibility of expanding the role of structural materials to other operational functions such as sensors and propulsion. There is anecdotal evidence that these materials could provide other functions that fundamentally change the design approach for vehicles, including cars, trucks, aircraft and spacecraft as well as provide insight into their source.
To The Stars Academy (TTSA) seeks to outsource to EarthTech International Incorporated (ETI) all analysis and experiments for the Materials Analysis - Set A (MSSA) program that form the first step of a larger technology development program to analyze the properties of potentially exotic materials.
Scope of Work
The scope of wok for the MSSA effort includes all planning, execution, analysis, and experimentation to establish the properties of specific materials. ETI will be responsible for the execution of all tasks. Specific deliverables and milestone will be listed in the Work Requirements and Milestones section of this SOW.
Period of performance
The total period of performance for the MAP efforts is 10 weeks months (sic), beginning on August 16, 2018 through October 25, 2018. All work must be scheduled to complete within this time frame. Any modifications or extensions will be requested through TTSA and ETI contracting officers for review and discussion.
Plan of performance
ETI will perform the work at its own facility or a subcontracted facility as required. ETI will be required to hold a brief video-teleconference once per week (day and time TBD) for a weekly status meeting. Additionally, all major reviews will be held at ETI's facility. ETI will provide and arrange for meeting spaces within its facility for all required meetings.
Work requirements
As part of the Materials Assessment Project, ETI will be responsible for performing all tasks. The following is a list of tasks which will result in the successful completion of this project:
Task 1 -Internal Testing:
- ETI will analyze the received materials using in-house capabilities
- ETI will present written status at weekly meeting
Task 2 -Subcontract Testing:
- ETI will subcontract further material testing as required
- ETI will present written status at weekly meeting
Task 3 - Analysis Effort:
- ETI will perform analysis of the internal and subcontracted materials test results
- ETI will present written status at weekly meeting
Task 4 - Next Steps Definition:
- ETI will develope draft plans for future analysis and testing work
- ETI will present written status at weekly meeting
Task 5 - Final Report
- ETI will create a final report presenting the approach, methods, procedures, results, findings, and recommendations noted in Tasks 1-4
Schedule/Milestones
The below list consists of the initial milestones identified for the Material Assessment Project:
RFP/SOW release - August 17, 2018
Response due - 10 working days after RFP release
BELS Plan Review Kickoff (sic) - TBD
Project Completion Reviw - TBD
Project Closure - TBD
Acceptance Criteria
For the Materials Assessment Project, the acceptance of all deliverables will reside with TTSA's Aerospace Division Director. The Aerospace Division Director will maintain a small team of advisors in order to ensure the completeness of each stage of the project and that the scope of work has been met. Once a project task is completed and ETI provides their report for review and approval, the Aerospace Division Director will either sign off on the approval or reply to ETI, in writing, advising what tasks must still be accomplished.
Once all project tasks have been completed, the project will enter the handoff/closure stage. During this stage of the project, ETI will provide their project report to TTSA's Aerospace Division Director. The acceptance of this documentation by TTSA's Aerospace Division Director will acknowledge acceptance of all project deliverables and that ETI has met all assigned tasks.
Any discrepancies involving completion of project tasks or disagreement between TTSA and ETI will be resolved by executive leaders from each respective company.
Other Requirements
The program funding is capped at $35,000.
TTSA expects only a task-level cost proposal to enable contact aware.
Payment Schedule: 50% at contract award, 50% at contract completion.
Second project
"Beamed Energy Launch System (BELS) Program Planning Project |
| Dr Eric Davis who is probably leading the second project |
Statement of Work (SOW)
Directed to EarthTech International Incorporated
August 17, 2018.
Introduction/Background
The use of beamed energy propulsion to launch small spacecraft into low Earth orbit offers the possibility of dramatic launch cost reductions compared to conventional rockets. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Propulsion Directorate has performed extensive theoretical and proof of concept experiments, demonstrating viability of the concept. Despite promising results, the study was terminated. However, the dramatic surge in cube satellite (cubesat) use, combined with the desire for dramatically lower launch costs with increased launch flexibility, opens the opportunity for a Beamed Energy Launch System (BELS) development and transition to an operational system.
To The Stars Academy (TTSA) seeks to outsource to EarthTech International Incorporated (ETI) a project to define a comprehensive program plan to develop an operational BEP launch system.
Scope of Work
The scope of work for the BELS effort is to define the program plan for requirements development, analysis, experimentation, risk reduction efforts, demonstrations, operational system development, and initial fielding of a BELS cubesat launch system development program. It is desired to have a technology demonstration within 18 months of contract award, a suborbital launch demonstration within 48 months of original contract award and orbital demonstration within 8 years of original contract award. ETI will be responsible for the execution of all tasks. ETI is expected to define and execute plan that reduces technical and funding expenditure risk. Specific deliverables and milestones will be listed In the Work Requirements and Schedules and Milestones sections of this SOW.
Period of Performance
The total period of performance for the BELS effort is 2 months, beginning on August 17, 2018 through October 17, 2018. All work must be scheduled to complete within this time frame. Any modifications or extensions will be requested through TTSA and ETI contracting officers for review and discussion.
Place of Performance
ETI will perform the work at its own facility or a subcontracted facility as required. ETI will be required to hold a brief video-teleconference once per week (day and time TBD) for a weekly status meeting. Additionally, all major reviews will be held at ETI's facility. ETI will provide and arrange for meeting spaces within its facility for all required meetings.
Work Requirements
As part of the BELS, ETI will be responsible for performing all tasks. The following is a list of tasks which will result in the successful completion of this project:
Task 1 -Kickoff'
- ETI will create a detailed execution project plan
- ETI will present project plan to TTSA for approval at kickoff
Task 2 - Program Planning Effort
- ETI will work with TTSA to gather requirements and establish metrics
- ETI will develop a comprehensive program plan that spans phases for requirements development, conceptual design, preliminary design, detail design, fabrication, system integration, and test for the cubesat launch system including launcher and ascent vehicle. The program plan will include:
- An integrated Master Schedule with phase definitions, decision offramps, and major milestones with expected accomplishments
- Resource requirements including funding headcount, facilities, certifications, environmental documents, flight clearance etc
- Work scope to be subcontracted (no contractor identification necessary for this effort)
- Identification of major technical and programmatic risks
- Identification of any Government Furnished Information or Government Furnished Equipment
- ETI will present written status at weekly meeting
- ETI will present the results of the task at the project completion review
Task 3 - Final Project review
- ETI will hold an on site, comprehensive final review of the BELS Program Plan
- ETI will submit a final report summarizing findings from the project
Schedule/Milestones
The below list consists of the initial milestone identified fro the Material Assessment Program (sic)
RFP SOW release - August 17, 2018
Response due - 10 working days after RFP release
BELS Plan Review Kickoff - TBD
Project Completion Review - TBD
Project Closure - TBD
Acceptance Criteria
For the BELS Project, the acceptance of all deliverables will reside with TTSA's Aerospace Division Director. The Aerospace Division Director will maintain a small team of advisors in order to ensure the completeness of each stage of the project and that the scope of work has been met. Once a project task is completed and ETI provide their report for review and approval, the Aerospace Division Director will either sign off on the approval or reply to ETI, in writing, advising what tasks must still be accomplished,
Once all project tasks have been completed, the project will enter the handoff/closure stage. During this stage of the project, ETI will provide their project closure report and project task checklist to TTSA's Aerospace Division Director. The acceptance of this documentation by the TTSA's Aerospace Division Director will acknowledge acceptance off all project deliverables and that ETI has met all assigned tasks.
Any discrepancies involving completion of project tasks or disagreement between TTSA and the ETI will be resolved by executive leaders from each respective company.
Other requirements
The program funding is capped at $25,000
TTSA expects only a task level cost proposal; to enable contract award
Payment Schedule: 50% at contract award, 50% at contract completion.
Defense Intelligence Reference Documents
On the EarthTech International website there is a list of six DIRD's prepared by Dr Eric W Davis. One of these 2010 documents was titled "Laser Lightcraft nanosatellites." Defense Intelligence Reference Documents. Defense Futures, DIA-08-1011-001. Technology Warning Division (DWO-4). Defense Warning Office. Directorate for Analysis, Defense Intelligence Agency, Washington DC. This document has never been made publicly available.
However, similar work by Dr Davis has been published, eg."Review of Laser Lightcraft Propulsion System" by Eric W Davis and Franklin B Mead (2008.) The idea continues to be studied, e.g. "Light Craft Powered by Laser Propulsion" by Kumar et al (2014.)
For more information about cubesats click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment