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AeroAstro-built STPSat-1 Satellite Operating Successfully On-orbit
Ashburn VA (SPX) Apr 18, 2007 AeroAstro reports that STPSat-1 successfully completed Normal Operations Readiness Review (NORR), conducted on 28 March at the Space Development and Test Wing (SDTW) at Kirtland AFB, NM. The NORR marks completion of the on-orbit checkout period that began with STPSat-1's launch on 8 March from Cape Canaveral on an Atlas V rocket. The checkout encompassed complete verification of each spacecraft subsystem's performance, and initialization of the two payload experiments. The checkout period was baselined for 30 days, but was accomplished in less than 3 weeks. STPSat-1's primary experiment, Spatial Heterodyne Imager for Mesospheric Radicals (SHIMMER), is a high-resolution ultraviolet spectrometer based on the new optical technique known as Spatial Heterodyne Spectroscopy (SHS). SHS facilitates the design of low mass, low power, high throughput spectrometers for space-based remote sensing. The secondary experiment, the Computerized Ionospheric Tomography Receiver in Space (CITRIS), is investigating irregularities that affect propagation of satellite-to-ground links for GPS and communications. "The STPSat-1 checkout period was accomplished rapidly and smoothly." said Richard Barnisin, AeroAstro's STPSat-1 Program Manager, and Vice President of Space Programs. "Most of the subsystems are performing even better than predicted, and we've confirmed that the experiments are getting good data. The launch sequence and final orbit were near-perfect, providing further verification that the EELV Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA) is a viable secondary launch alternative." AeroAstro developed the low-earth orbiting spacecraft under contract to the Department of Defense (DoD) Space Test Program. Email This Article
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Cornell University Chosen To Build Nanosat-4 Flight Experiment
Reston VA (SPX) Apr 04, 2007The Cornell University student team and their CUSat nanosatellite design has won the University Nanosat Flight Competition Review (FCR). This win moves the Cornell team on to build the Nanosat-4 flight experiment for the Air Force/AIAA University Nanosatellite Program, a national student satellite design and fabrication competition. |
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