Industry Supported Battery Passivation Techniques

*Revision 11/19/2024: This sources sought has been updated to extend the response deadline to December 13, 2024 at 5:00 PM PST. 

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center (ARC) on behalf of the Space Technology Mission Directorate’s (STMD) Small Spacecraft Technology (SST) Program and is hereby soliciting information from potential sources for inputs on industry, academia, or government adopted battery passivation techniques. As part of a continual process improvement effort and potential requirement revisions, the NASA Small Spacecraft community, Office of Safety and Mission Assurance, and Orbital Debris Program Office are seeking inputs from industry on battery passivation techniques that are used by industry to satisfy the Orbital Debris Mitigation Standard Practices (ODMSP) requirements 2-2. Limiting the risk to other space systems from accidental explosions and associated orbital debris after completion of mission operations: All on-board sources of stored energy of a spacecraft or upper stage should be depleted or safed when they are no longer required for mission operations or post mission disposal. Depletion should occur as soon as such an operation does not pose an unacceptable risk to the payload. Propellant depletion burns and compressed gas releases should be designed to minimize the probability of subsequent accidental collision and to minimize the impact of a subsequent accidental explosion.

Background

NASA has well-established procedures for passivating power sources on large, highly redundant spacecraft to mitigate debris generation at end-of-life. However, the rise of capable small spacecraft utilizing single-string and Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) components presents challenges. Directly applying passivation strategies designed for redundant systems to these less complex spacecraft can introduce risks and may not be cost-effective for these missions.

Recognizing that the commercial sector has emerged as a leader in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) small satellite operations, NASA seeks to engage with industry, academia, and government spacecraft operators to gain insights into current battery passivation techniques. Understanding industry-adopted practices, their underlying rationale, and performance data will inform NASA's ongoing efforts to develop safe and sustainable end-of-life procedures for future missions.

NASA invites government, academic, or industry stakeholders, including small satellite operators, manufacturers, and component suppliers, to share information on battery passivation strategies employed in their spacecraft.

Requested Information

1. Technical Approach: Please describe in detail the battery passivation techniques your organization employs for small spacecraft at end-of-mission.
2. Reliability & Risk Management: How do you ensure the reliability of your passivation solution?
   • Please elaborate on whether and how a risk-based approach is incorporated into your passivation technique selection and implementation.
3. Operational Experience:
   • For the flight systems you've passivated using your accepted techniques, please specify the orbits in which they were operating, the size of the power system, it’s capacity and chemistry, as well as the number of systems successfully passivated and flown.
   • Do you monitor battery health, and have you seen any indicators that could have resulted in a battery system anomaly?
4. Standards & Compliance: What standards or guidelines are you currently implementing or working towards in your passivation strategy and designs?
   • Are there any specific standards or policies related to battery risk of explosion that you are currently incorporating?
   • Are there specific testing requirements that your battery packs undergo that show there is less than a 1 in 1,000 probability (or qualitative estimate of reliability) of explosion during operations?
   • Are there any specific standards or policies related to end-of-mission battery passivation that you believe need revision or improvement? If so, please provide suggestions for improvements.

Additional Considerations (Optional):

1. If available, please provide any data or evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of your passivation techniques in mitigating debris generation.
2. Feel free to share any lessons learned, challenges encountered, or best practices discovered during the implementation of your battery passivation strategies.

NASA/ARC is seeking input statements from all interested parties, including all socioeconomic categories of Small Businesses and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)/Minority Institutions (MI), and members of the underserved communities as defined by Executive Order 13985, Advancing Racial Equity And Support For Underserved Communities Through The Federal Government, for the purposes of determining the appropriate level of competition and/or small business subcontracting goals for the purposes of developing and implementing this Technology Plan.  The Government reserves the right to consider a Small, 8(a), Women-owned (WOSB), Service Disabled Veteran (SD-VOSB), Economically Disadvantaged Women-owned Small Business (EDWOSB) or HUBZone business set-aside based on responses received.

Response to this RFI is voluntary.  Each individual or institution is requested to submit only one response.  Submission must be in 12 point or larger font and not exceed 5 pages, with a page number provided on each page.  Responses should include the name of the person(s) or organization(s) filing the comment.  Comments containing references, studies, research, and other empirical data that are not widely published should include copies or electronic links of the referenced materials.

All responses shall be submitted electronically via email to arc-battery-passivation@mail.nasa.gov no later than December 13, 2024 at 5:00 PM PST.   

No business proprietary information, copyrighted information, or personally identifiable information should be submitted in response to this RFI.

No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on SAM.gov.  Interested firms are responsible for monitoring this website for the release of any solicitation or synopsis.

Vendors having the capabilities necessary to meet or exceed the stated requirements are invited to submit appropriate documentation, literature, brochures, and references.

This synopsis is for information and planning purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government nor will the Government pay for information solicited.  Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation.