Session
Technical Session IV: Hardware in Space
Abstract
SeaStar is the result of a ground-breaking arrangement between Orbital Sciences Corporation and NASA, in which the U.S. Government is procuring space-based environmental remote sensing data for research purposes from a commercial operator. The SeaStar system incorporates the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS), a visible to near-infrared, multi-spectral scanning radiometer developed by the Hughes Santa Barbara Research Center (SBRC). The ocean color data provided by this mission supports more efficient and profitable environmental monitoring and marine industries. The data purchase arrangement with NASA results in a unique mission operations scenario. Orbital is responsible for conducting full mission operations and maintaining the health of the spacecraft. The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) SeaWiFS project office provides daily command files to Orbital to control SeaWiFS instrument operations, perform data recorder memory allocation, and ensure stored data transmission to NASA ground stations. Orbital adds tasking to fulfill commercial data customer requirements. Extensive use of autonomous operations capability further reduces labor requirements and mission cost over the 5-10 year lifetime. The SeaStar spacecraft was successfully launched by a Pegasus™ XL rocket on 1 August 1997. After a short orbit-raising and initialization period, the ORBlMAGE mission team will begin nominal operations and data delivery to NASA researchers and ORBIMAGE commercial customers.
SeaStar™ (OrbView-2) Flight Operations and Data Delivery
SeaStar is the result of a ground-breaking arrangement between Orbital Sciences Corporation and NASA, in which the U.S. Government is procuring space-based environmental remote sensing data for research purposes from a commercial operator. The SeaStar system incorporates the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS), a visible to near-infrared, multi-spectral scanning radiometer developed by the Hughes Santa Barbara Research Center (SBRC). The ocean color data provided by this mission supports more efficient and profitable environmental monitoring and marine industries. The data purchase arrangement with NASA results in a unique mission operations scenario. Orbital is responsible for conducting full mission operations and maintaining the health of the spacecraft. The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) SeaWiFS project office provides daily command files to Orbital to control SeaWiFS instrument operations, perform data recorder memory allocation, and ensure stored data transmission to NASA ground stations. Orbital adds tasking to fulfill commercial data customer requirements. Extensive use of autonomous operations capability further reduces labor requirements and mission cost over the 5-10 year lifetime. The SeaStar spacecraft was successfully launched by a Pegasus™ XL rocket on 1 August 1997. After a short orbit-raising and initialization period, the ORBlMAGE mission team will begin nominal operations and data delivery to NASA researchers and ORBIMAGE commercial customers.
