Design-Build NASA Lunabotics Competition Arena

NASA Lunabotics Competition Arena

8-koi engineered and constructed the Robotic Mining Competition Indoor Arena at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Awarded by the NASA Shared Services Center (NSSC), 8-koi furnished all the labor, equipment, materials, transportation and supervision within a budget of $292,957. The arena was built on time to host the student competition originally scheduled for May 18-22, 2020 at the Astronauts Memorial Foundation in the Center for Space Education at KSC.

See the video and read more about the 2022 Grand Opening.

The competition is a part of the Artemis Student Challenges, designed to engage and retain students in STEM fields by expanding opportunities for student research and design in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math. The arena was built to provide a simulation to university students who are designing, building, and operating lunar excavator prototypes that are tasked with excavating lunar soil, known as regolith, that could be used as building materials, water, or even rocket fuel necessary to have a sustainable presence on the moon.

The clear enclosure features a field of competition open to spectator viewing that safely contains the Black Point-1 (BP-1) Lunar Basaltic Regolith Simulant which is a lava basalt aggregate with a natural particle size distribution similar to that of lunar soil. Each mining lane is ~6.8 meters long (~3.6 meter obstacle zone plus a ~3.2 meter excavation zone) and ~2.5 meters wide. The competition space is equipped with both wired and wireless communications for controlling the robots as well as streaming a live audio-visual feed.

Dredging and Underwater Operations

Naval Submarine Base (NSB) Kings Bay

8-koi removed sediment, undisturbed soils and other debris from the MSF and dry dock areas. The operation involved divers assisted by surface supplied air. 8-koi managed the dredging and diving operations from a 150’ barge with a 230-ton capacity crane and a tugboat. The teams used a 60-foot airlift maneuvered by the crane and a 2” Hand Water Jet operated by divers for critical areas near structures, to remove the materials from the dredge area. Underground sensors were calibrated, High voltage underwater cabling and other structures were protected. Required depth was in excess of 40 feet of mllw. 8-koi removed approximately 7,000 cubic yards of materials during the dredge operations.

Trident Wharf Utility Replacement

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

This Design/Build Construction project required replacement of all mechanical piping, valves and appurtenances on the Trident Wharf. Value engineering consisted of changing the pipe material in the underground distribution to HDPE for corrosion resistance. Measures were taken for all the pier side utility replacement to ensure environmental permitting would not be required.

Systems replaced include:
-Force Main Sewer System
-Force Main Oily Waste System
-Segments of the DI Water distribution system
-Fire Water Distribution System including the replacement of existing and addition of redundant back flow preventers, new risers and -pier side hose reels.
-Low Pressure Air piping and replacement of the air drier
-Gravity sewer system from the support building

Communications Project

NAS JAX Hospital

This construction project involved the removal and replacement of the nurse call system, Public Address system, all synchronized clocks, and select phone circuits throughout the Naval Hospital at Naval Air Station Jacksonville. All work needed to be completed while the hospital was staffed and remained fully operational. Coordination was required with multiple departments and logistics were key for the successful acceptance of the new system prior to dismantling and removing the existing systems. Also, as part of this project several spaces were remodeled including new MPE services and finishes. Detailed record drawings, product data and video training programs were required as part of the project.