Mission demonstration concept for the long-duration storage and transfer of cryogenic propellants

This paper describes an experimental platform that will demonstrate the major technologies required for the handling and storage of cryogenic propellants in a low-to-zero-g environment. In order to develop a cost-effective, high value-added demonstration mission, a review of the complete mission concept of operations (CONOPS) was performed. The overall cost of such a mission is driven not only by the spacecraft platform and on-orbit experiments themselves, but also by the complexities of handling cryogenic propellants during ground-processing operations.