Session
Technical Session II: Current Ways to Get to Orbit
Abstract
The Department of Defense Space Test Program is responsible for launching small experimental payloads and demonstration technologies as directed by the Space Experiments Review Board (SERB). The Shuttle Expendable Rocket for Payload Augmentation (SHERPA) program will develop a highly functional space vehicle – with several variants – that incorporates a scaleable, modular architecture to support a wide variety of missions, technologies, and configurations. The initial application of SHERPA will be as an orbit transfer vehicle designed to raise a payload from a low Space Transportation System (STS) flight altitude to an orbit with a nominal one-year lifetime. This capability will allow STP to take advantage of the low-cost Space Shuttle launch services and still achieve the mission lifetimes required for experiments. In this paper, analysis and design of the SHERPA scalable, modular architecture will be discussed. In addition, applicable requirements and constraints levied upon the design by the customer, secondary payload deployment mechanisms, such as the Canister for All Payload Ejections (CAPE), STS safety, the concept of operations, and envisioned applications, will be addressed.
Presentation Slides
SHERPA: A Flexible, Modular Spacecraft for Orbit Transfer and On-Orbit Operations
The Department of Defense Space Test Program is responsible for launching small experimental payloads and demonstration technologies as directed by the Space Experiments Review Board (SERB). The Shuttle Expendable Rocket for Payload Augmentation (SHERPA) program will develop a highly functional space vehicle – with several variants – that incorporates a scaleable, modular architecture to support a wide variety of missions, technologies, and configurations. The initial application of SHERPA will be as an orbit transfer vehicle designed to raise a payload from a low Space Transportation System (STS) flight altitude to an orbit with a nominal one-year lifetime. This capability will allow STP to take advantage of the low-cost Space Shuttle launch services and still achieve the mission lifetimes required for experiments. In this paper, analysis and design of the SHERPA scalable, modular architecture will be discussed. In addition, applicable requirements and constraints levied upon the design by the customer, secondary payload deployment mechanisms, such as the Canister for All Payload Ejections (CAPE), STS safety, the concept of operations, and envisioned applications, will be addressed.
