Gravitics Inc

Welcome to the first in our series of interviews with industry pioneers, Beyond the Grid: Interviews on Powering the Final Frontier! 👨🚀 🚀 Today, we are speaking with Mark Miner, PhD, PE, Head of Mission Sciences at Gravitics Inc. He leads the company's development of thermal systems, batteries and solar power generation systems. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳-𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨/𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺? The usual twins, generation and storage. We’re looking to house all kinds of activities in our vehicles, and reliable solar generation has to pair with serious batteries. We appreciate mPower’s support with affordable solar for our body-mounted and optional deployable solar solutions. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘹𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘴? It starts with customer requirements, then to the simplest suitable system to meet them. We do not have a bells-and-whistles power system, but we focus on proven components, and we want our supply partners to shine in their areas of expertise. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮(𝘴) 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘺? We aim to adopt demonstrated recent technology, rather than, say, ultra-heritage designs from decades ago. We believe this offers our customers the best performance at a reasonable cost, while building a design baseline that will allow us years of use. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱, 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺? We will always favor a supplier that is available and willing to co-solve problems in their domain. This is possible with distant suppliers, but we especially value the ability to talk through a question or a concern promptly. The material supply chain is very important, but the key to good engineering is the information supply chain, especially for a young company. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳/ 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦? Power is the currency of space, second perhaps to mass. It seems to me that mass was the driver in the launch-constrained world that has been, and the combination of today’s rapid-cadence launches, and the next-gen heavy launch vehicles will shift the pinch point to power. Solar will remain attractive for a very wide range of applications in the near-Earth space. The reduction in cost and the improved radiation tolerance of specialty silicon cells, will mean solar supplies the vast majority of space power for quite some time. #spacepower #beyondthegrid #space #solarpower

CEO Colin Doughan explains Gravitics, our goals, and how we're achieving them on Payload's Pathfinder Podcast YouTube: https://lnkd.in/e_t7n7Cx Spotify: https://lnkd.in/ekZy__A3 Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/e25kaJZd

Exclusive – Space station module builder Gravitics Inc landed a $125 million order from Axiom Space for a pressurized spacecraft to attach to the planned Axiom Station, the first major deal for the Washington-based startup. Gravitics CEO Colin Doughan: “We're a very hardware rich company, so we're building at the same time we're finalizing design."

Gravitics to Build Space Infrastructure for Commercial Space Station. https://lnkd.in/eSxxZmxe

We're building bigger

NASA and Gravitics sign SAA with focus on verification and validation solutions for large spacecraft. More info here: https://lnkd.in/e3vAhmhV

Gravitics is pleased to announce that we are developing orbital platforms for the United States Space Force. More info here: https://lnkd.in/e8HjXRWJ

🚀🧑🚀 Sometimes my job is pretty cool… 🛰️ Great trip to Seattle this week to visit some of the space companies in my patch. 🗣️ Thanks Gravitics Inc for the great site tour, special shout out to Mike DeRosa for the warm hospitality! Look forward to continued collaboration with Gravitics Inc 🇬🇧🇺🇸

Extravehicular activities (EVAs), commonly referred to as spacewalks, have played an important role in space since the early days of human spaceflight. On March 18, 1965, Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov ventured outside of his capsule, becoming the first human to float freely in space. This initial test lasted about 12 minutes and had a few complications. Leonov’s suit expanded so much while outside that he had trouble fitting back inside the spacecraft. He ended up opening a valve to let some air out of his suit, venting it beyond safety limits before he was able to climb back into the airlock. He also reported that he perspired so much, he was sloshing in sweat within his space suit. As EVAs have become more frequent and longer in duration, the equipment has evolved. The EMU (Extravehicular Mobility Unit) for example, is a space suit designed to provide astronauts with life support, mobility, and protection from extreme temperatures. The EMU includes a helmet with a visor to shield against the sun, radiation, and micrometeoroids, as well as a backpack that provides oxygen, cooling, and communication capabilities. EVAs have been instrumental in the assembly and construction of space stations such as Skylab, Mir, and the ISS. As part of building these stations, astronauts performed intricate maneuvers to connect modules, deploy solar arrays, and install external components, helping transform modules into complex orbiting laboratories. Gravitics believes in the benefits of a robust human and robotic presence in space. Overall, extravehicular activities continue to be indispensable for facilitating scientific research, supporting human systems, exploration, and the maintenance of spacecraft and space stations. New and exciting EVA equipment is currently in development. The Gravitics team is looking forward to seeing advanced systems in operation as space suits and procedures continue to evolve. #SpaceStationSaturday 

The Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, commonly known as DEXTRE, is a sophisticated robotic arm system employed on the International Space Station (ISS) for a wide range of maintenance, repair, and assembly tasks. Developed by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), DEXTRE serves as an essential robotic assistant, enhancing the capabilities of the ISS by performing intricate maneuvers that would otherwise require astronaut spacewalks. Its modular design allows for the attachment of specialized tools and payloads tailored to specific mission objectives, such as replacing failed hardware components and conducting scientific experiments. DEXTRE is equipped with two highly dexterous arms, each boasting seven degrees of freedom, which allows it to reach and manipulate objects with remarkable precision. Mounted on a mobile base system, DEXTRE will often attach to the Canadarm2, and traverse the exterior of the ISS, accessing various work sites and payload attachment points. DEXTRE can also be connected to the Mobile Base System (MBS), a railcar platform that travels along the length of the ISS truss structure, extending DEXTRE's reach to different locations across the station's wingspan. Robotic systems like DEXTRE will continue to be an important part of the infrastructure in low Earth orbit, especially as commercial space stations are assembled and become operational. Over the next decade, these systems will play crucial roles in building infrastructure, manufacturing products in space, supporting human activity, and more. #SpaceStationSaturday