Planetary Resources, Inc., the asteroid mining company, announced today that its Arkyd 3 Reflight (A3R) spacecraft deployed successfully from the International Space Station (ISS) Kibo airlock and has begun its 90-day mission. The demonstration vehicle will validate several core technologies including the avionics, control systems and software, which the company will incorporate into future spacecraft that will venture into the Solar System and prospect for resource-rich near-Earth asteroids.
The A3R launched to the ISS onboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 in April as a part of the CRS-6 crew resupply mission. Their philosophy is to test often, and if possible, to test in space. The A3R is the most sophisticated, yet cost-effective, test demonstration spacecraft ever built. They are innovating on every level from design to launch, said Chris Lewicki, president and chief engineer, Planetary Resources, Inc. By vertically integrating the system at their facility in Redmond, they are in constant control of every component, including the ones they purchase off the shelf and the others that they manufacture using 3D printers.
Once the A3R completes its mission, the validated and evolved technologies will be the main components of the Arkyd series of deep-space asteroid-prospecting spacecraft. The next demonstrator, the Arkyd-6 (A6), will be launched later this year and will test the attitude control, power, communication and avionics systems.
Planetary Resources is leveraging the increased payload capacity of the A6 to begin demonstration of core technology to measure resources on water-rich asteroids. Included in the payload is a mid-wave infrared imaging system, able to precisely measure temperature differences of the objects it observes, as well as acquire key data related to the presence of water and water-bearing minerals. The system will first test targeted areas of Earth before being deployed to near-Earth asteroids on future missions.
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