ETD Capabilities Listing
Versatile Capability Solutions for NASA and Beyond
Beyond meeting the needs of NASA programs, ETD capabilities are applicable to a wide range of activities, both in aerospace and other fields, and are accessible to support various internal and external clients.
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Thermal Engineering
Thermal Engineering provides the technology and support needed to meet the thermal requirements of spacecraft and instruments, from conceptual design to mission end-of-life. This includes developing and integrating thermal control systems for spacecraft and instruments, verifying the designs through analysis and environmental testing…
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SlideRule
SlideRule is an open source framework for on-demand processing of science data in the cloud. The SlideRule project offers a new paradigm for NASA archival data management – rapid delivery of customizable on-demand data products able to target a wide range of science applications by using processing…
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Virtual Mission Operations Center (vMMOC)
An innovative, technologically advanced hybrid solution that provides a platform for all future and legacy missions to host a shared, fully supported and secure, resilient Mission, Science, Instrument, and/or Navigation Operations Center…
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Wavefront Sensing and Control (WFSC)
Wavefront Sensing and Control (WFSC) capability leverages Fourier optics to model electro-optical systems. This includes the application of phase retrieval and phase diversity techniques, enhanced by state-of-the-art estimation and machine learning…
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Optical Design and Modeling
ETD supports all phases of scientific and optical instrument development, beginning with optical design. Our optical designers collaborate with scientists and other stakeholders to define system-level requirements and create optical designs that support proposal efforts and project oversight…
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Mechatronics & Robotics
Mechatronics and Robotics provide multi-disciplinary support in areas of electromechanical systems engineering, including precision mechanisms, optomechanical systems, control electronics, and robotics. We have the capabilities and technology development expertise to conceptualize, define requirements, design, analyze, fabricate…
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Sounding Rockets, Scientific Balloons and the Research Range
ETD at Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) develops new technologies that improve flight projects’ capabilities or lower access costs to space. ETD supports all phases of the mission lifecycle with engineering teams assembled across ETD…
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Goddard Dynamic Simulator (GDS)
Goddard Dynamic Simulator provides real-time high fidelity environmental and space component simulators for spacecraft. GDS receives data from the spacecraft under test using various electrical hardware interfaces, computes the effect of that data on the simulated environment, and returns those results to the spacecraft to create…
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NavCube3-mini Multi-GNSS Receiver Technology
The NavCube3-mini (NC3m) is a low Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) multi-frequency, multi-GNSS receiver developed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The NC3m GNSS receiver derives heritage from the high-altitude GPS receiver Navigator used on the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission (MMS) which launched in…
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Optical Bench
Laser altimeter, lidar, and other spacecraft instruments require precise and stable pointing and alignment of a series of optical components to meet mission and science requirements. Typically, these components need to maintain these requirements through launch, thermal, and on-orbit jitter environments. This has been achieved through…
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General Mission Analysis Tool (GMAT)
The General Mission Analysis Tool (GMAT) is used to facilitate mission design and proposal development for all project types, including scientific research and flight mission operations. Comprised of two million source lines of code, GMAT exists as one of NASA’s most expansive and successful open-source software projects,…
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Conjunction Assessment Risk Analysis (CARA)
For over 20 years, the NASA CARA program has been responsible for risk assessment and mitigation support for the Agency’s non-Human Spaceflight Missions, spanning both pre- and post-launch analysis and support in accordance to NPR 8079.1…
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Composite and Metallic Structure
Spacecraft and instrument structures vary greatly in shape, size, and material, with each project having distinct requirements. The Mechanical Engineering team specializes in designing, building, integrating, testing, and delivering both composite and metallic structural solutions…
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Mechanical Ground Support Equipment (MGSE)
The Mechanical Engineering teams bring decades of expertise in spaceflight mission design, assembly, and operation of various Mechanical Ground Support Equipment (MGSE), playing a crucial role in satellite development efforts. Engineers specialize in the creation…
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Computer Aided Design Software and Infrastructure
The Creo/Windchill Support Team (CWST) within the Mechanical Engineering Branch, maintains and supports industry-leading software, including Creo, Windchill, and SOLIDWORKS. We manage the entire Computer Aided Design (CAD) infrastructure, ensuring optimal performance, security compliance, seamless integration, training and training documentation…
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Advanced Laser Technologies for Interferometry
ETD’s Instrument System and Technology division team is developing ultra stable and low noise laser systems to measure gravitational waves in space starting with the laser transmitter for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission. LISA consists of three spacecraft that are separated by millions of miles and trailing tens of millions of miles…