Advanced spacecraft technology program

Insight is given into the APL Space Department's Advanced Technology Development Program for spacecraft. After 40 years in the business of developing spacecraft, new technology and new methods entailing risk are still thelifeblood of the Laboratory's contributions to the national space program. Today's political environment concerning the use of new techniques in spacecraft and how we have come to that environment are briefly described. The underlying technical thinking behind our current efforts is presented, with an emphasis on what we are doing and why (rather than the details of how), and where these activities may lead us in the future. These efforts include scalable architectures, miniaturization, custom integrated circuits, spacecraft autonomy, and ultra-low-power electronics.