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ARC AVA — Affordable Vehicle Avionics

Low-cost GNC avionics for nano-launch vehicles. FO provided suborbital flight tests; technology patented but no known commercial adoption.

Created: Session 97, 2026-04-07
Last updated: Session 97, 2026-04-07

Summary

AVA (Affordable Vehicle Avionics) is a compact, low-cost guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) system developed at Ames Research Center for nano-launch vehicles. At 1% the cost of state-of-the-art avionics (100mm x 120mm x 69mm, <0.84 kg), AVA aimed to enable affordable primary-payload launches for CubeSats. GCD co-funded AVA development; FO funded suborbital flight tests on UP Aerospace SpaceLoft rockets. AVA flew twice, with the first successful flight (SL-11, 2018) demonstrating roll-axis closed-loop control. A patent was filed (US10669045) and the technology is available for licensing on NASA's T2 Portal. No commercial adoption has been identified.

FO Project

91427 — Affordable Vehicle Avionics (AVA) Flight Testing

Field Value
Lead Org Ames Research Center
PI Arwen I. Dave
Period 2015-04-01 to 2018-04-30
TRL 5 → 6
Status Completed
TX TX15.1.8: Ground and Flight Test Technologies
Views 2,611

SL-11 Flight (2018): First successful flight for AVA. Despite parachute not deploying, AVA data survived. Early data analysis indicated AVA accomplished its primary objective of roll-axis closed-loop control. Secondary objective (3-axis attitude control) showed issues under investigation.

SL-14 Flight: Planned for April 2019. Software adjustments based on SL-11 data.

Pre-SL flights (2015): An earlier test on November 16, 2015 verified new software and hardware for the GNC system and telemetry avionics.

Technology Details

  • Size: 100mm x 120mm x 69mm (smaller than a multilayer sandwich)
  • Mass: <0.84 kg (2 lbs)
  • Cost target: 1% of current state-of-the-art avionics
  • Function: Full GNC subsystem + telemetry for small launch vehicles
  • Approach: Low-cost moderately-precise sensor suite + advanced error-correcting software
  • Patent: US10669045 (TOP2-274), available for licensing on NASA T2 Portal

Downstream Impact

Path Status
Commercial licensing Available on T2 Portal; no known licensees
Launch vehicle adoption No known nano-launch vehicles using AVA
Follow-on NASA projects No active TechPort projects found
Publications NTRS 20150018050, 20190026558, 20150022154, 20170010409; SAE Tech Briefs article

Assessment: AVA achieved its technical objectives on FO flights but has not transitioned to commercial use. The nano-launch vehicle market that AVA targeted (dedicated primary-payload CubeSat launchers) has evolved since 2015 — companies like Rocket Lab, Astra, and Firefly developed their own avionics. AVA's value proposition (affordable GNC for third-party launch providers) may have been overtaken by the market.

Data Quality Issue

Erroneous technologyOutcomes: AVA's TechPort record contains outcome linkages to completely unrelated projects: - "Advanced To" → 14686 (GRC CIF: carbon nanotube composites) — Feb 2013 - "Advanced To" → 15465 (MIT STRG: hierarchical nanocomposites) — Aug 2014 - "Advanced From" → 95678 (CU Boulder STRG: autonomous SSB operations) — Apr 2015

All three linked projects are in different programs, at different organizations, in different technology areas, and on different subjects. Both "Advanced To" dates predate the FO project start (2015-04-01). These are database errors. See TechPort Outcome Data Quality.

Outcome Assessment

Category Assessment
Outcome Patent Filed, No Commercial Adoption
TRL achieved 6
Mission infusion No
Commercial No — technology available for licensing but no known takers
Publications 4+ NTRS papers + SAE article
Time since FO flight ~8 years (2018 → 2026)

Verification

Claim Evidence Confidence
SL-11 flight demonstrated roll-axis control TechPort [91427] description (post-flight summary 2018-09-17) Confirmed
AVA flew twice on suborbital platforms NASA fact sheet (spring 2020 reference) Confirmed
Patent US10669045 filed NASA T2 Portal TOP2-274 Confirmed
No known commercial licensee No evidence in web search Suggestive (absence of evidence)
technologyOutcomes link to unrelated projects Verified [14686], [15465], [95678] are different programs/orgs/topics Confirmed