Space Environment Technologies — ARMAS¶
Radiation monitoring from stratosphere to lunar surface. FO balloon testing matured ARMAS to TRL 9, enabling FM11 to land on the Moon aboard IM-2 Athena, March 2025.
Summary¶
Space Environment Technologies (SET), Pacific Palisades CA, developed the Automated Radiation Measurements for Aerospace Safety (ARMAS) system over 15+ years through an extensive NASA FO + SBIR maturation chain. FO project 106715 was the final pre-operational balloon demonstration (2020–2024, TRL 7→8/9). In 2025, ARMAS FM11 flew on Intuitive Machines IM-2 Athena and landed on the Moon — the second documented FO → lunar mission infusion after NDL/Psionic → IM-1. SET also commercialized ARMAS for Virgin Galactic's Delta fleet, commercial aviation flights, and a Navy subscription data service.
PI: W. Kent Tobiska (President and Chief Scientist, SET)
Confidence: confirmed (NASA FO transitions article, SET press releases, USASpending)
FO Project Chain¶
| Project | Period | Vehicle | TRL Gain | Key Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARMAS predecessors (1–6) | 2011–2016 | Various balloons | Incremental | Validated TRL progression from laboratory to stratosphere |
| 89360 ARMAS-Hi | 2017-04–2019-02 | Commercial aircraft + balloon | 6→7 | First real-time COTS-based global operational radiation dose assessment at high altitude; direct application to space tourism safety and commercial aviation. PI: W. Kent Tobiska. |
| 106715 ARMAS DM POMD | 2020–2024 | World View balloons (28-day) + Blue Origin New Shepard (2022) | 7→8 (project) / 9 (SET claim) | 28-day continuous aviation radiation monitoring; suborbital deep-space environment prep |
The project title: "ARMAS Dual Monitor Pre-Operations Mission Demonstration (ARMAS DM POMD)" — dual detector array measuring: total ionizing dose, gamma rays, LET spectroscopy, and tissue equivalent proportional counter (TEPC).
Connection to World View Enterprises: The balloon tests used World View's stratospheric balloon platform — the same company whose altitude control system was validated by FO project 89368. Two FO projects in the KB share infrastructure.
Lunar Mission: ARMAS FM11 on IM-2 Athena¶
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Vehicle | Intuitive Machines IM-2 Nova-C "Athena" lunar lander |
| Launch | February 26, 2025 |
| Landing | March 6, 2025 ~17:35 UT |
| Landing site | Mons Mouton region, lunar south pole (250m from target, inside crater) |
| Distinction | Southernmost lunar landing and surface operations ever achieved |
| Outcome | Lander tipped onto its side → early termination. ARMAS FM11 functioned throughout transit. |
| Data collected | ~32 hours of radiation measurements from GEO through deep space, Van Allen belts, lunar orbit, landing, lunar surface |
| Host payload | Part of Lonestar Data Holdings (St. Petersburg FL) "Freedom" payload on IM-2 |
Data value: First-ever continuous radiation measurement across six distinct regions (Earth upper atmosphere, Van Allen belts, deep space, lunar orbit, lunar landing, lunar south pole surface). Data currently being analyzed to inform next-generation landers and crewed missions.
NASA confirmation: The FO program's transitions page is titled "Flight-Tested Technologies for Safety in Space Head to the Moon" and explicitly describes the FO balloon tests as the maturation path enabling the lunar mission.
Commercial & Operational Outcomes¶
| Application | Detail |
|---|---|
| Virgin Galactic Delta fleet | ARMAS integrated for radiation monitoring on commercial spaceflights |
| Commercial aviation | ARMAS deployed on commercial airline flights; real-time dose monitoring |
| Navy subscription service | Annual contracts for HASDM/SGI space weather indices data product |
| NAIRAS model | Nowcast of Atmospheric Ionizing Radiation for Aerospace Safety — operational forecasting product |
| Aviation safety | Connects to FAA CAMI radiation model (CARI-7) for aircrew radiation exposure tracking |
| AFWERX | SET projects selected Oct 2021 (DoD commercialization pathway) |
USASpending (page 1, partial)¶
| Award | Amount | Agency | Period | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80NSSC19C0194 | $1.00M | NASA | 2019–2024 | FO balloon demonstration (ARMAS DM POMD) |
| 80NSSC25C0064 | $849.9K | NASA | 2025–2027 | Phase II SBIR: Commercial data assimilation for thermospheric density |
| 80NSSC24CA067 | $846.4K | NASA | 2024–2026 | Phase II SBIR: Operational solar/geomagnetic indices forecasting |
| NNX12CA78C | $774.9K | NASA | 2012–2015 | Global radiation environment (NAIRAS development) |
| FA945310C0039 | $750.0K | USAF | 2010–2012 | Phase II SBIR: real-time Dst forecasting |
| N6600122P6345 | $489.8K | Navy | 2022 | SGI-HASDM subscription |
| DOCGS23F0195 | $450.7K | NOAA | 2009–2011 | Ground system algorithm development |
| DOCWC133R18CN0087 | $400.0K | NOAA | 2018–2021 | SBIR Phase II: Space weather data products |
| NNH05CD15C | $389.2K | NASA | 2005–2008 | Solar irradiance model improvements |
| N6600118P7815 | $263.3K | Navy | 2018–2019 | Irradiance/particles license subscription |
| N6600120P6336 | $318.7K | Navy | 2020–2021 | Space weather subscription renewal |
| N6600119P6237 | $235.0K | Navy | 2019–2020 | HASDM access subscription |
| N6600121P6377 | $180.2K | Navy | 2021–2022 | Space weather indices subscription |
| Phase I SBIRs (×3) | $450.0K | NASA | various | ARMAS DM, thermospheric density, geomagnetic indices |
| Phase I SBIRs (×3) | $375.0K | NASA | various | META-HASDM, OPSRAD, SABER algorithms |
Tracked total: ~$7.9M (page 1 only; additional AFWERX and SBIR contracts exist)
Outcome Chain¶
Lab development (SET, Pacific Palisades)
→ NASA SBIR Phase I/II chain (2005–2019)
→ FO balloon tests with World View (multiple, 2011–2024) [Project 106715]
→ FO New Shepard test (2022) — sub-orbital preparation
→ FO TRL 7→8/9 achieved
→ ARMAS FM11 commercial flight on Virgin Galactic Delta fleet
→ ARMAS FM11 on IM-2 Athena → lunar south pole, March 6, 2025
→ 32 hours deep-space radiation data collected (first-ever cross-region dataset)
→ Data feeds Artemis crewed mission radiation planning
Archetype: Long-running platform maturation via FO → dual commercial (Virgin Galactic, aviation) + government infusion (lunar CLPS) outcomes. SET is a classic small company whose technical roadmap was co-funded across 15+ years by FO + SBIR + DoD subscriptions.
Timeline¶
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2005 | NASA NRA award (solar irradiance models) — early SET capability building |
| 2011 | First ARMAS FO flight experiment |
| 2012–2019 | 6+ FO balloon/suborbital tests; NAIRAS operational model; Navy subscriptions begin |
| 2020–2024 | FO project [106715]: Dual Monitor 28-day balloon flight; New Shepard suborbital (2022) |
| 2021 | AFWERX projects selected |
| 2022 | ARMAS FM8 orbited on SpaceX launch |
| 2025 | ARMAS FM11 on IM-2 Athena → Moon landing, March 6 |
| 2025–2026 | Two new NASA SBIRs (thermospheric density, geomagnetic indices) |
FO-to-lunar gap: ~14 years from first FO flight (2011) to Moon landing (2025). The longest maturation arc in the KB.
Cross-references¶
- World View Enterprises — provided balloon platform for FO testing
- psionic-ndl.md — the other FO → Moon infusion case (NDL on IM-1, Feb 2024)
- best-sources.md
- fo-portfolio-tracker.md