Ball Aerospace supported the completion of the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) for NASA’s Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Re-ionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx).
With PDR complete, the SPHEREx project will proceed toward Critical Design Review (CDR) and the project team will now complete the Key Decision Point C process in coordination with NASA prior to initiate the implementation phase.
Ball is responsible for building the spacecraft and telescope as well as system integration and test, support for integration of the spacecraft onto a launch vehicle and commissioning of the spacecraft after launch.
The SPHEREx bus will be based on the Ball Aerospace customizable and proven line of Ball Configurable Platform (BCP) spacecraft, designed for flexible, cost-effective applications, using a common spacecraft bus and standard payload interfaces to reduce cost, streamline payload accommodation and minimize delivery time.
The BCP series has served as the spacecraft for past explorer-class missions such as the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE. Exceeding its spacecraft design life, WISE was later repurposed as NEOWISE after completing its primary mission in order to hunt for near-Earth objects.
“This latest program milestone is an important step forward in realizing NASA’s mission to peer into the history of the universe,” said Dr. Makenzie Lystrup, VP and GM, Civil Space, Ball Aerospace. “Ball has a long heritage of delivering new and innovative solutions for tomorrow’s science questions, partnering with our customers and the science community to provide science at any scale.”