Session
Technical Session I: Hardware In Space
Abstract
On 17th June 1994, Ariane flight V64 placed into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) two 52 kg 'Space Technology Research Vehicles' built by the UK Defence Research Agency (DRA). The major objective of the STRV-1a/b one year mission was to evaluate in orbit, new technologies which have application to future space missions. The GTO provides a very harsh space environment, particularly in terms of radiation dose. The two spacecraft not only carry a suite of fourteen experiments between them, including experiments from the Ballistic Missile Defence Organisation, European Space Agency, the DRA and various universities, but they also incorporate many new technologies into the platform design. The paper provides a full overview of the mission including a description of the in-orbit performance of the two spacecraft. Some of the main results from the mission with respect to spacecraft, subsystem and experiment performance are presented. The current status of the mission extension and further microsatellites in the series (STRV-1c & d) is also presented.
The Space Technology Research Vehicles STRV-1A and -1B: One Year in GTO
On 17th June 1994, Ariane flight V64 placed into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) two 52 kg 'Space Technology Research Vehicles' built by the UK Defence Research Agency (DRA). The major objective of the STRV-1a/b one year mission was to evaluate in orbit, new technologies which have application to future space missions. The GTO provides a very harsh space environment, particularly in terms of radiation dose. The two spacecraft not only carry a suite of fourteen experiments between them, including experiments from the Ballistic Missile Defence Organisation, European Space Agency, the DRA and various universities, but they also incorporate many new technologies into the platform design. The paper provides a full overview of the mission including a description of the in-orbit performance of the two spacecraft. Some of the main results from the mission with respect to spacecraft, subsystem and experiment performance are presented. The current status of the mission extension and further microsatellites in the series (STRV-1c & d) is also presented.
