Rebel Space Receives Phase II SBIR Award for NASA Lunar Operations Software

NASA has awarded Rebel Space Technologies a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research contract for a proposal that uses the company’s proprietary Rebel Cognitive Communications and Control software.

The Long Beach, California-headquartered space company’s proposal is titled “SpaceWeaver: A Collaborative Smart Network for Space Communications.”

Rebel-C3 was designed to deliver autonomous, network management services. Using Rebel-C3, SpaceWeaver creates a distributed cognitive space communications network that boosts mission science data return and enhances network resource efficiencies for lunar operations conducted by NASA, Rebel Space said.

The Rebel-C3 software is equipped with artificial intelligence-enhanced distributed sensing and optimized data routing. The feature ensures the execution of “efficient” and “resilient” operations in unpredictable space environments, Rebel Space explained.

The goal of the software development project is to “coordinate the transfer and relay of mission data across the lunar architecture based on data priority, content schedule, and environmental conditions,” the company said, noting that such a capability is a requirement for future missions seeking to explore the Moon.

The second phase of the project will see participation from Prewitt Ridge, which will offer its VerifAI capability. VerifAI is a patent-pending method specifically designed for processing unstructured and semi-structured textual data into technical decisions.

Under phase two, Prewitt Ridge and Rebel Space will work together to deliver the SpaceWeaver prototype software to NASA.

The contract will be executed by the two companies in a two-year period of performance.