Session
Technical Session VII: The Year in Review
Abstract
The Space Test Program Satellite-1 (STPSat-1) mission is the first STP mission explicitly designed to utilize the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA). At this writing, STPSat-1 is fully operational on-orbit, after being integrated with the ESPA ring and payload stack earlier this year, prior to a successful launch on March 8, 2007 aboard an Atlas V launch vehicle (AV-013 / STP-1). The STPSat-1 space vehicle hosts two DoD experiments, SHIMMER and CITRIS, both built by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). This paper summarizes the multitude of technical challenges encountered by the STPSat-1 team during the development cycle, including designing to the highly-constrained and uncharacterized ESPA environment, accommodating the restrictions imposed on secondary payloads for non-interference with a primary payload, and range safety challenges including new rules for Lithium-ion battery usage. It will also address the organizational and integration challenges inherent with being one of six spacecraft on a DoD EELV launch. Because STPSat-1 is launched on the first flight of ESPA, these results translate into valuable lessons-learned for the small satellite community as they consider additional missions to capitalize on the new ESPA launch capability.
Presentation Slides
STPSat-1: The First Space Test Program Mission to Capitalize on the New ESPA Secondary Launch Capability
The Space Test Program Satellite-1 (STPSat-1) mission is the first STP mission explicitly designed to utilize the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA). At this writing, STPSat-1 is fully operational on-orbit, after being integrated with the ESPA ring and payload stack earlier this year, prior to a successful launch on March 8, 2007 aboard an Atlas V launch vehicle (AV-013 / STP-1). The STPSat-1 space vehicle hosts two DoD experiments, SHIMMER and CITRIS, both built by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). This paper summarizes the multitude of technical challenges encountered by the STPSat-1 team during the development cycle, including designing to the highly-constrained and uncharacterized ESPA environment, accommodating the restrictions imposed on secondary payloads for non-interference with a primary payload, and range safety challenges including new rules for Lithium-ion battery usage. It will also address the organizational and integration challenges inherent with being one of six spacecraft on a DoD EELV launch. Because STPSat-1 is launched on the first flight of ESPA, these results translate into valuable lessons-learned for the small satellite community as they consider additional missions to capitalize on the new ESPA launch capability.
