Skip to content

Nexolve Holding Company (→ Applied Aerospace & Defense, Dec 2025) — LISA-T Solar Array Deployment

FO Project(s): 106590
Title: LISA-T Microgravity Deployment Demonstration
TRL: 5→6 (parabolic flight)
Period: 2018-09-05 – 2020-04-06
Lead Org: Nexolve Holding Company, LLC — Huntsville, Alabama (now Applied Aerospace division)
Primary TX: TX03.1.3 Static Energy Conversion
Investigated: 2026-04-06 (Session 4)
Last updated: 2026-04-07 (Session 84) — SIGNIFICANT UPDATE: Applied Aerospace merged with PCX Aerosystems (Dec 2025) to form Applied Aerospace & Defense ($500M+ revenue, 1,300+ employees); acquired Vestigo Aerospace (Feb 2026) adding Spinnaker deorbit drag sail; PTD-4 boom still unresolved

What Was Tested

The Lightweight Integrated Solar Array and AnTenna (LISA-T) is a CubeSat power system that folds to extreme compactness and deploys four "petal" solar array panels plus an integrated antenna. Nexolve ran two parabolic flight campaigns to validate the deployment mechanism in microgravity — the critical concern being whether the ultra-thin, membrane-based petals would unfurl correctly without the help of gravity. Result: deployment confirmed at TRL 6.

Problem solved: CubeSats on standard 6U buses have tight power budgets. LISA-T offers up to 3× more power without significant mass/volume penalty — a transformative capability for science CubeSats needing active instruments.

Downstream: Flight on PTD-4 (August 2024)

This technology flew on orbit.

  1. FO parabolic test (2018–2020): TRL 5→6 — deployment mechanism validated in microgravity
  2. Flight unit contract ($639.8K, NASA 80NSSC19C0631, 2019-2022): "Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator PTD LISA-T PTD FLIGHT UNIT" — actual flight hardware built
  3. PTD-4 "Triumph" launch — August 16, 2024, SpaceX Transporter-11, Vandenberg SFB. The 6U spacecraft deployed the LISA-T payload in orbit. NASA article confirmed: "The payload has initiated deployment of its central boom structure that supports four solar power and communication arrays, also called petals, which are pushed nearly three feet (one meter) away from the spacecraft bus." [Source: NASA]
  4. Partial anomaly: As of October 2024, the central boom had initiated deployment but encountered a challenge with full extension before the petals could unfold. No public confirmation of resolution found through April 2026. The last public NASA status left this as an active engineering problem being worked. This is a mission risk item — the LISA-T deployment may not have fully succeeded on orbit.

Chain: FO microgravity validation (2020) → PTD flight unit (2021) → PTD-4 on orbit (2024)

Broader Nexolve Portfolio

Nexolve is NASA Marshall's primary deployable membrane contractor. The LISA-T FO project was one data point in a much longer story:

Contract Amount Period Description
80NSSC23CA175 (NASA) $7.33M 2023–2028 FY23 Phase III — 4 Solar Cruiser design sail quadrants
80NSSC23CA023 (NASA) $1.41M 2022–2026 SBIR Phase III RCD TRL maturation
80NSSC20C0126 (NASA) $1.12M 2020–2024 Simple Reliable Retractable Lunar Lander Solar Array
80NSSC19C0213 (NASA) $1.12M 2019–2023 Corin XLS polyimide space durability testing (MISSE-FF)
80NSSC19C0200 (NASA) $1.12M 2019–2022 Packaging/manufacturing for very large solar sails
80NSSC21C0587 (NASA) $888.5K 2021–2024 Bi-fold fan DragSail with surface modulation
80NSSC19C0631 (NASA) $639.8K 2019–2022 LISA-T PTD flight unit
80NSSC23CA232 (NASA) $495K 2023–2024 LIDIA (Lightweight Deployable Integrable Antenna Array)
80NSSC22CA188 (NASA) $410.6K 2022–2023 Lunar Array Deployment System adapted for LIDIA
NNM17AA01P (NASA) $673.5K 2016–2018 Solar sail TRAC boom for NEA Scout
NNM15AA29P (NASA) $528.2K 2015–2016 Lunar Flashlight and NEA Scout EDU components
W15QKN23C0060 (Army) $1.10M 2023–2025 Army SBIR Phase II
W15QKN22P0050 (Army) $167.5K 2022–2023 Army SBIR Phase I
Multiple smaller ~$1M+ — SBIR Phase I/IIIs, material testing

Total visible (USASpending page 1): ~$17.5M NASA + ~$1.3M DoD = ~$18.8M

Corporate Transformation (2025–2026)

March 10, 2025: Applied Aerospace (Stockton, CA) acquired Nexolve. Nexolve became the "Advanced Materials & Deployable Systems" division with Huntsville, AL facility retained. NeXolve brand kept for polyimide resin/film product lines. Source: PR Newswire.

December 3, 2025: Applied Aerospace merged with PCX Aerosystems to form Applied Aerospace & Defense. Both companies backed by Greenbriar Equity Group. Combined company: 1,300+ employees, 1.3M sq ft across 9 locations in 5 states, $500M+ annual revenue. Trip Ferguson named CEO. Source: PR Newswire.

February 24, 2026: Applied Aerospace & Defense acquired Vestigo Aerospace, adding the Spinnaker deorbit drag sail product line. Dr. David Spencer (ex-JPL, Purdue) joined as VP of Deployable Systems. Acquisition explicitly tied to the FCC 5-year deorbit rule as a commercial growth driver. Source: PR Newswire / Via Satellite.

What this means for the FO portfolio: In 12 months, the small Huntsville deployables shop became a division of a $500M+ multi-site aerospace manufacturer. The company's deployable portfolio now spans: - Solar arrays (LISA-T heritage) - Solar sails (Solar Cruiser heritage) - Sunshields (JWST heritage) - Drag sails (legacy NeXolve bi-fold) - Spinnaker deorbit sails (Vestigo — commercially driven by FCC deorbit mandate)

This is a meaningful consolidation of the thin-film deployable supply chain under one Greenbriar-owned entity. The FO-validated LISA-T technology contributed to the company's portfolio value, but the Greenbriar roll-up strategy is clearly the driver — not FO outcomes specifically.

Solar Cruiser Note

The $7.33M Solar Cruiser contract (2023–2028) is for sail membrane quadrant development — technology continuation, not a full mission. Solar Cruiser itself was cancelled by NASA SMD in June 2022 for cost/schedule reasons. A full 400 m² quadrant deployment was successfully completed on the ground as part of this continuation effort. Nexolve was the CP-1 sail membrane provider (1,653 m² sail, 2.5-micron thick). NEA Scout also used Nexolve sail material; flew on Artemis-1 (Nov 2022) but communications were never established.

New Contract: LIDIA Power Beaming

Award 80NSSC25C0440 ($52.4K, Aug 2025–Jun 2026): SBIR Phase III for LIDIA (Lightweight Deployable Integrable Antenna) Array for power beaming. Small but shows continued NASA engagement post-acquisition.

Technology Maturation Chain

NASA/Marshall thin-film polymer R&D (decades)
    ↓
Nexolve licenses CP-1 sail membrane
    ↓
NanoSail-D (early solar sail demos)
    ↓
NEA Scout components ($528K, 2015)
    ↓
FO: LISA-T microgravity deployment demo (TRL5→6, 2018–2020) [project 106590]
    ↓
PTD-4 "Triumph" flight unit ($640K, 2021)
    ↓
PTD-4 launches SpaceX Transporter-11 (Aug 16, 2024) — LISA-T deploys on orbit ✓
    ↓
Solar Cruiser sail quadrants ($7.33M, 2023–2028) [mission cancelled, tech continues]
    ↓
Lunar lander solar array ($1.12M), DragSail ($889K), LIDIA antenna ($495K + $52K follow-on)
    ↓
Acquired by Applied Aerospace (Mar 2025) → merged with PCX → Applied Aerospace & Defense ($500M+, Dec 2025)
    ↓
Vestigo Aerospace acquired (Feb 2026) — Spinnaker deorbit sails, FCC 5-yr rule commercial driver

Outcome Category

On-orbit validation (partial) + acquired into $500M+ entity. LISA-T launched and initiated deployment on PTD-4, but full petal unfurling may not have completed (anomaly under investigation — 18 months without public resolution). Nexolve acquired by Applied Aerospace (Mar 2025), which merged with PCX Aerosystems (Dec 2025) to form Applied Aerospace & Defense ($500M+ revenue), then acquired Vestigo Aerospace (Feb 2026). Total Nexolve government contracts ~$19M+; parent company $500M+.

TRL gap observed: TRL6 in parabolic flight (FO project) → PTD-4 in orbit. Partial anomaly may prevent full TRL9 claim — this is a cautionary data point for the FO→orbit bridge.

PI and Contacts

  • PI: Brandon S. Farmer (Nexolve)
  • Co-Is: James Pearson, John A. Carr (john.a.carr@nasa.gov — NASA Marshall)
  • Program: FO managed by Danielle McCulloch / Gregory Peters

Confidence

  • FO project advanced LISA-T to TRL6: confirmed (TechPort)
  • PTD-4 launched and LISA-T boom initiated deployment: confirmed (NASA press)
  • PTD-4 LISA-T full petal deployment: unconfirmed (anomaly reported Oct 2024; no resolution found)
  • Nexolve acquired by Applied Aerospace Mar 2025: confirmed (PR Newswire)
  • Applied Aerospace + PCX → Applied Aerospace & Defense Dec 2025: confirmed (PR Newswire)
  • Vestigo Aerospace acquired Feb 2026: confirmed (PR Newswire, Via Satellite)
  • Combined company $500M+ revenue, 1,300+ employees: confirmed (PR Newswire)
  • Solar Cruiser cancelled (mission): confirmed (tech continuation contract active)
  • Total Nexolve contracts ~$19M+: confirmed (USASpending)

Cross-references