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SST → SSDS Program Rename

Filed: Session 25, 2026-04-14 Status: Confirmed Confidence: confirmed

Finding

NASA's Small Spacecraft Technology (SST) program has been officially renamed to Small Spacecraft & Distributed Systems (SSDS). The rename reflects the program's evolution from individual smallsat technology maturation toward distributed systems and multi-spacecraft architectures.

Evidence

  1. Bruce Yost presentation (SSDS Program Manager, ARC): "NASA Small Spacecraft and Distributed Systems: Recent and Upcoming Technology Demonstrations and Development Efforts," 2025 Robotics and Autonomy Workshop, UC Berkeley, September 23, 2025. NTRS 20250009467. Uses "SSDS" throughout; never uses "SST."

  2. NASA website now uses "Small Spacecraft & Distributed Systems (SSDS)" at nasa.gov/smallspacecraft.

  3. SSDS Projects and Missions page exists at nasa.gov/smallspacecraft/technology-demonstrations/.

Why This Matters

  • All 111 projects in our KB were funded under "SST." The program they belonged to has been renamed.
  • The rename signals a strategic shift: from technology components to distributed architectures — swarms, formation flying, cooperative autonomy. This aligns with the Starling→Starling 1.5 trajectory (the program's flagship demo of distributed systems).
  • New projects going forward will be under "SSDS," not "SST." The TechPort program filter may change.
  • This is consistent with the program's arc: early SST work funded individual components (propulsion, comms, sensors), later work funded distributed systems (Starling swarm, CLICK crosslinks, SSPICY RPO, PY4 swarm, VISORS formation flying).

Implications for KB

  • The sst-portfolio-tracker.md and all references to "SST program" remain historically accurate — these projects were funded under SST.
  • Future monitoring should search for both "SST" and "SSDS" program names in TechPort.
  • The overview should note the rename and its strategic significance.

New Mission: LASSO (Lunar Assay via Small Satellite Orbiter)

The Yost SSDS presentation reveals a new mission: LASSO — a DARPA + NASA STMD partnership.

What it is: A small satellite in very low lunar orbit (~10 km altitude) to map all areas on the Moon with >5% water ice concentration at ≤4 km² resolution. 4-year data collection mission after lunar orbit insertion. Tests autonomous navigation and continuous dynamic repositioning in stressing orbital conditions.

Timeline: - DARPA solicitation released April 14, 2025 - NASA-DARPA interagency agreement executed September 23, 2025 (signed IAA on nasa.gov) - No launch date announced yet

Why it matters for the SST/SSDS story: 1. First DARPA partnership in the SSDS portfolio (previous DARPA connections were indirect, e.g., Phase Four's DARPA origin) 2. Extends SST from LEO CubeSat demos to deep-space operational missions — the furthest reach yet 3. Connects to the LunaNet PNT stack surprise: 4 SST projects from the 2020 cycle built complementary cislunar architecture layers. LASSO would be a consumer of that architecture 4. Connects to CAPSTONE/Advanced Space cislunar nav work 5. ISRU dimension: LASSO supports lunar resource utilization, aligning SSDS with Artemis objectives 6. The "distributed systems" in SSDS is not just swarms — it's about extending small spacecraft to new destinations (Moon, cislunar, eventually deep space)