A Decade of NASA Strategic Astrophysics Technology Investments: Technology Maturation, Infusion, and Other Benefits

TL;DR

This paper reviews NASA's decade-long strategic astrophysics technology investments, highlighting technology maturation, infusion success, workforce training, and future priorities to enable groundbreaking space missions.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of NASA's SAT program's portfolio, progress, and impact over ten years, including technology areas, success stories, and strategic priorities.

Findings

100 SAT grants awarded since 2009

Technologies advanced to higher TRL levels and infused into missions

Training of future astrophysics workforce through project involvement

Abstract

NASA Astrophysics Division funds development of cutting-edge technology to enable its missions to achieve ambitious and groundbreaking science goals. These technology development efforts are managed by the Physics of the Cosmos, Cosmic Origins, and Exoplanet Exploration Programs. The NASA Strategic Astrophysics Technology Program (SAT) was established in 2009 as a new technology maturation program to fill the gap in the Technology Readiness Level range from 3 to 6. Since program inception, 100 SAT grants have been openly competed and awarded, along with dozens of direct-funded projects, leading to a host of technologies advancing their Technology Readiness Levels and/or being infused into space and suborbital missions and ground-based projects. We present the portfolio distribution in terms of specific technology areas addressed, including optics, detectors, coatings, corona graphs, star shades, lasers, electronics, and cooling subsystems. We show an analysis of the rate of Technology Readiness Level advances, infusion success stories, and other benefits such as training the future astrophysics workforce, including students and postdoctoral fellows hired by projects. Finally, we present the Astrophysics Division current strategic technology maturation priorities for investment, enabling a range of future strategic astrophysics missions.