GR firm develops tech for NASA flight

DornerWorks will contribute its aerospace networking device to the Artemis II lunar flyby mission.
GR firm develops tech for NASA flight
DornerWorks produced the Space Conformance 1Gbps Ethernet Development Kit for NASA’s Artemis program to improve onboard communications. Credit: Courtesy photo

Update: NASA has postponed the Sept. 27 launch of Artemis I, the first mission in the program.

In spring 2024, as NASA plans to send a crewed mission to the moon for the next phase of its Artemis program, astronauts are expected to use a piece of technology made in West Michigan.

Grand Rapids-based DornerWorks has developed a space-qualified type of Ethernet switch on a small chip allowing for connectivity onboard spacecraft. According to the company, it’s the first technology of its kind in the world.

“There’s specific data that this module needs to be able to sustain or be able to process and make sure it meets the requirements under all conditions,” said Danche Gjorgjievski, senior engineering group manager at DornerWorks. “Specifically for NASA, there’s obviously very detailed requirements that our design needs to meet — power, performance, size and then making sure that can function in a radiation-hardened environment.”

Founded in 2000, DornerWorks has contributed its technology engineering services to various industries, including solutions for automotive, industrial, medical and consumer products, plus now the aerospace industry.

The process for this NASA-specific technology has taken Gjorgjievski and her team of engineers, as well as partners and other customers, almost three years to develop. A robust design process preceded the building of prototypes, which will be tested before integration with NASA systems.

Heralded as the next era of human exploration, NASA’s Artemis program features a series of increasingly complex missions leading up to exploration on the moon and eventually Mars.

As the first phase of the program, the Artemis I mission had attempted a launch on Aug. 29 but couldn’t complete the launch due to technical difficulties. A second attempt on Sept. 3 also was unsuccessful.

At press time, Artemis I recently passed a crucial fueling test ahead of a new launch attempt on Sept. 27.

Artemis II, the second mission of the program and the first crewed mission, currently is scheduled to launch in May 2024. The mission will send crew members on NASA’s Orion spacecraft to perform a lunar flyby test before returning to Earth.

Finally, Artemis III is scheduled take a crew to the moon for a landing in 2025. According to NASA, this crew will include the first woman and person of color to venture onto the lunar surface.

The opportunity for DornerWorks to create technology for NASA came from a partnership as well as prior project experience, according to business development director Gregg Wildes. 

“We have valued partnerships with a couple of the billion-dollar chip companies out in Silicon Valley,” Wildes said. “We work very closely with them on their latest generation of chips. In this case, it’s one that has extra reliability for the harsh radiation environment in space. We were working with one of those chip companies at the time and the company recommended us for this particular opportunity.”

In addition, Wildes said the NASA involvement came through DornerWorks’ participation in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program coordinated by the Small Business Administration. The program is intended to help select businesses conduct federal research and development for advanced technology through funding from grants or contracts.

DornerWorks previously had been a research project company for NASA and had engaged in work with the administration before the Artemis program.

“That gave us the pedigree where NASA wanted us in supporting the mission,” Wildes said.

Gjorgjievski also credits the company’s unique skillset involving technology for networking, which is what NASA was looking for.

Previously, astronauts relied on slower, proprietary technology to connect devices. Now, the use of DornerWorks’ technology on the Artemis II mission will mark the first time that astronauts can use a gigabit Ethernet connection in space to communicate with their team or send a message to their families.

The new technology is a physically condensed version of what Ethernet networking capabilities normally entail, according to Wildes.

“So, an Ethernet network is the type of computer network that is at many of our offices and homes, and a lot of times those are managed by something called an Ethernet switch or a networking switch — big boxes, like the size of a pizza box,” Wildes said. “And DornerWorks’ talented engineers have taken that functionality and put it on a radiation-hardened or a more reliable computer chip — a special computer chip to support NASA’s space mission.”

Before that happens, testing and system integration will have to take place. DornerWorks will complete part of that testing in a lab at its Grand Rapids headquarters while team members also travel off-site for testing at a system integration lab with NASA.

The challenge with developing space-qualified technology is, of course, preparing for the high levels of radiation.

“Traditional chips in computers or our phones that we may be talking on would not be reliable,” Wildes said. “They wouldn’t work in space. They would have errors and wouldn’t function properly.”

To combat this, DornerWorks has worked in the software coding and programming of the chip to protect it, providing reliable networking from the space capsule.

While this technology has been designed for NASA initially, Gjorgjievski and Wildes said it could be utilized in other applications in the future.

“There’s potential that we would be supporting the next generation as well,” Gjorgjievski said. Wildes added that the company also is working with aviation and ground vehicle customers looking for reliable networking for aircraft or autonomous vehicles.

For the DornerWorks team, the opportunity to support the Artemis mission is both exciting and rewarding, not just for the company and for West Michigan but for the global significance.

“With the Artemis missions, it’s not just this first launch — it’s eventually going to the moon, going back to the moon and then going onto Mars,” Wildes said. “It’s all of humankind making these steps. We’re very excited to be a part of that.”

This story can be found in the Oct. 3 issue of the Grand Rapids Business Journal. To get more stories like this delivered to your mailbox, subscribe here.