Session
Technical Session V: Getting There
Abstract
The design of SpaceX’s Dragon capsule includes an aft structure known as the “Trunk” which can house small payloads for co-manifested missions when re-supplying the International Space Station. One such planned mission includes the ORBCOMM Generation 2 (OG2) spacecraft. The co-manifested approach that SpaceX provides with the Falcon 9 creates affordable and responsive launch opportunities for ORBCOMM and Sierra Nevada Corporation, which built the spacecraft, but presents a unique challenge: The spacecraft were not designed for the measured Trunk environment, but were built and qualified to the environments of other potential launch vehicles. In order to be qualified for the environment, however, the spacecraft design team was faced with the challenge of either re-designing and re-qualifying or turning to using SoftRide as the launch load alleviation solution. As a result, these OG2 spacecraft have a special SoftRide designed and built to support the spacecraft in the Trunk. This paper will describe the unique obstacles faced for this mission due to this emerging launch option provided to the small satellite community by SpaceX.
Presentation Slides
ORBCOMM Generation 2 Access to LEO on the Falcon 9 using SoftRide, A Case History
The design of SpaceX’s Dragon capsule includes an aft structure known as the “Trunk” which can house small payloads for co-manifested missions when re-supplying the International Space Station. One such planned mission includes the ORBCOMM Generation 2 (OG2) spacecraft. The co-manifested approach that SpaceX provides with the Falcon 9 creates affordable and responsive launch opportunities for ORBCOMM and Sierra Nevada Corporation, which built the spacecraft, but presents a unique challenge: The spacecraft were not designed for the measured Trunk environment, but were built and qualified to the environments of other potential launch vehicles. In order to be qualified for the environment, however, the spacecraft design team was faced with the challenge of either re-designing and re-qualifying or turning to using SoftRide as the launch load alleviation solution. As a result, these OG2 spacecraft have a special SoftRide designed and built to support the spacecraft in the Trunk. This paper will describe the unique obstacles faced for this mission due to this emerging launch option provided to the small satellite community by SpaceX.
