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Company
Portfolio Data
Back to Company SearchRAVEN SPACE SYSTEMS, INC.
UEI: ZJNJLNVGYLM5
Number of Employees: 4
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
SBIR/STTR Involvement
Year of first award: 2021
4
Phase I Awards
2
Phase II Awards
50%
Conversion Rate
$658,547
Phase I Dollars
$2,549,793
Phase II Dollars
$3,208,340
Total Awarded
Awards
3D Printed Hypersonic Testbeds
Amount: $1,800,000 Topic: AFX23E-TPCSO1
The DoD needs to increase the rate of development and testing of hypersonic materials and systems. However, hypersonic conditions cannot be accurately replicated on the ground and current representative flight tests are very expensive and infrequent. To meet this critical need, Raven proposes the Mach3D, 3D printed hypersonic testbeds for frequent, affordable, and versatile hypersonic flight testing. The Mach3D aeroshells can survive the most extreme flight conditions including Mach 25+ reentry from space. Mach3D aeroshells are adaptable to various missions and experiments using Raven’s breakthrough aerospace composite 3D printing technology. Raven’s innovation unlocks the production-level 3D printing of aerospace-grade thermoset composite and ceramic composite preforms. This revolutionary process rapidly produces highly tailorable materials with strong mechanical properties and thermal stability for rapid, low-cost, and adaptable hypersonic aeroshell production. In Phase II, Raven will develop a nonrecoverable Mach3D reentry vehicle to acquire hypersonic reentry flight data.
Tagged as:
STTR
Phase II
2025
DOD
USAF
SBIR Phase I: 3D Printing Reentry Capsules
Amount: $275,000 Topic: SP
The broader impact/commercial potential of this I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to accelerate humanity’s utilization and exploration of space. The International Space Station spends $1 billion annually on cargo transport but has limited opportunities for payload return each year. This bottleneck is caused by outdated reentry vehicle production that hinders microgravity research and in-space manufacturing developments. The problem is becoming more pressing as commercial space stations are expected to increase space cargo return demand significantly in the next decade. By using 3-dimensional (3D) printing, manufacturing and refurbishment of entire reentry capsules (both the structure and heat shield) is 10 times faster and an estimated 95% lower in cost compared to traditional manufacturing. This innovative 3D printing solution will increase the cadence and lower the cost of space station cargo resupply and return, promoting the development of a robust low Earth orbit economy. Frequent returns of high-value payloads from space will have substantial impacts on several industries including pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, fiber optics, etc. The technology will also provide rapid low-cost development of vehicles for various atmospheric entry or hypersonic applications including space resource return, deep space probes, rapid global delivery, hypersonic flight testing, and more. This SBIR Phase I project will develop 3D printing of high-strength heat shield materials. The research will test 3D printed specimens to demonstrate the feasibility of the first ever, entirely 3D printed capsules capable of surviving reentry from space. The core innovation is a platform technology that will be capable of rapid, large-scale, direct ink write 3D printing of aerospace-grade thermoset composite paste materials for the first time. To achieve this, the commercially available and widely proven thermoset resins will be cured directly at the point of deposition in seconds using a novel rapid heating method. These materials typically require hours in an oven to cure, so the project is expected to demonstrate curing the highest-performing aerospace-grade materials faster than they have ever been cured before. This in-situ curing direct ink write 3D printing innovation will be a breakthrough in aerospace composite manufacturing. The composite formulations used in the project will be made of the same raw materials as used on flight-proven reentry capsule heat shields, but tailorable to be as strong as aluminum at half the weight. The composites will perform as both the structure and heat shield on reentry capsules. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase I
2024
NSF
3D Printed Hypersonic Testbed
Amount: $109,992 Topic: AFX23E-TPCSO1
The US is behind in hypersonic weapons development. The DAF needs to drastically increase the rate of development and testing of hypersonic materials and systems. Unfortunately, hypersonic conditions cannot be accurately replicated on the ground and current representative flight tests are very expensive and infrequent. To meet this critical need, Raven proposes the AnyFlux: entirely 3D printed hypersonic testbed vehicles for low-cost, high-frequency, versatile hypersonic flight testing. The AnyFlux can survive the most extreme flight conditions including Mach 25+ reentry from space, with a vehicle design that can be rapidly changed using RavenÆs rapid large-scale aerospace composite 3D printing innovation. The AnyFlux will enable flight testing at a wide range of hypersonic conditions, a necessary capability for the DoD to dominate the hypersonic regime. ???????
Tagged as:
STTR
Phase I
2024
DOD
USAF
Epoxy Matrix Continuous Carbon Fiber 3D Printing
Amount: $749,793 Topic: AFX20D-TCSO1
In the Phase II project proposed, Raven 3D will continue developing the Phase I desktop 3D printer prototype to provide on-demand fabrication of thermoset parts like gaskets, O-rings, and aircraft ducting for the Air Force. Additionally, a multi-axis Phase II prototype will be developed to 3D print epoxy matrix continuous carbon fiber parts for extremely high strength, lightweight, and durable parts production. The FiberQuill technology is capable of in-situ curing genuine thermoset materials to enable large-scale 3D printing of complex polymer parts with considerably higher performance than traditionally 3D printed thermoplastics and photopolymers. Raven 3D will utilize its key partnerships and experienced research team to leverage our cutting-edge technologies to greatly improve the proof of concept prototype that was developed in Phase I for immediate AF use and develop a groundbreaking multi-axis thermoset 3D printing technology. The Phase II work will result in small and large-scale 3D printing of high-performance thermoset polymer parts, with unprecedented resistance to heat, chemicals, and light for several Air Force applications.
Tagged as:
STTR
Phase II
2022
DOD
USAF
3D Printing Continuous Carbon Fiber Reinforced Epoxy via In-situ Nanocomposite Microwave Curing
Amount: $150,000 Topic: AFX20D-TCSO1
Raven 3D, the University of Oklahoma (OU), Gerling Consulting, Inc. (GCI), and Güdel Inc. propose to develop FiberQuill, a scalable Direct Ink Writing (DIW) 3D printing method capable of printing epoxy coated continuous carbon fiber (e-CCF) to fabricate extraordinarily high strength-to-weight ratio aircraft parts. In the Phase I effort, the team will develop the FiberQuill printhead that uses microwave energy to cure the extruded e-CCF immediately after deposition to enable continuous carbon fiber (CCF) DIW for the needs of the Air Force. For Phase II and beyond, the 3D printing technique can be scaled-up to larger build volumes utilizing robotic manufacturing systems provided by Güdel. FiberQuill will enable 3D printing of large carbon fiber composite structures with comparable mechanical and thermal properties to composite laminates. This technology will allow the Air Force and the aerospace industry to manufacture optimally designed composite aircraft components that were previously unable to be fabricated via molding. FiberQuill will improve the performance, reduce the number of parts, and simplify maintenance for cutting edge composite aircraft.
Tagged as:
STTR
Phase I
2021
DOD
USAF
Microwave Assisted Deposition of Cyanate Ester Composites
Amount: $123,555 Topic: T12
To automate the fabrication of ablative Thermal Protection Systems (TPS), a novel in-situ curing additive manufacturing (AM) technology and high-performance composite materials will be developed. The state-of-the-art in-situ curing nozzle utilizes localized volumetric heating of the extrudate to rapidly cure the polymer and adhere it to the flight structure. Rollers following the thermoset printhead will consolidate the materials reducing voids and eliminating previously necessary repairs on fabricated TPS before launch. The composition of the composite materials will be easily varied to gradient the material properties through the thickness of the TPS. Highly insulative materials closer to the flight structure and highly structural materials closer to the stagnation point of the vehicle will be critical for high-performance TPS. Future implementation of a continuous fiber 3D printhead will allow printing of the honeycomb or iso-grid reinforcement to stop potential crack propagation in high shear environments. Additionally, a highly robust outer layer of continuous carbon fiber will be 3D printed on the TPS for enhanced mechanical reinforcement. The unique combination of the novel in-situ curing nozzle, high-performance thermoset composite materials, and a multi-axis robotic arm will enable automated and time-efficient fabrication of TPS with minimal defects. This technology will facilitate future NASA missions to the Moon and Mars by initializing an assembly line for atmospheric entry vehicles of the future.nbsp;
Tagged as:
STTR
Phase I
2021
NASA