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  JAWSAT, 2000-004A- JAWSAT is a 191.4kg microsatellite project by Weber State University and the USAF
Academy, built by OSSS. It was launched on the 26th January 2000 on the first orbital
flight of the OSPSLV (formerly MSLS) from VBAFB. The JAWSAT Multi-Payload Adapter
(MPA) space-frame will deploy four independent satellites, including: ASUSAT from Arizona State University, Opal,
a satellite from Stanford University The United States Air Force Academy's Falconsat
satellite, and an Optical Calibration Sphere Experiment (OCSE)
from the Air Force Research Laboratory and L'Garde. JAWSAT will also support three other
experiments that will remain attached to its MPA frame: PEST, NASA Marshall Space Flight
Center's Plasma Experiment Satellite Test Weber State University's Attitude Controlled
Platform (ACP) Weber State University's Imaging Sub-System. The spacecraft is to have
three axis attitude control, orbit control using an electric pulsed plasma motor. Its main
payload will be 6 CCD cameras which will record the deployment of the satellites, and star
mapper, as well as varies scientific payloads. A mission description can also be found at
the University of New Hampshire
JAWSAT has three downlinks, namely 2W at 437.175MHz, 1.6W on 437.075 and 2W at 2403.2W.
More...
[JAWSAT at WSU CAST][PEST plasma
sensor on JAWSAT]
- Globalstar, 2000-062A-D
- With 48 satellites in orbit and launch failure in 1998, the final 4 out of a total
of 48+4 Globalstar satellites in the Space Systems Loral 'Big LEO' global mobile
communications network offering global real time voice, data and fax, were launched on a
Delta launcher on the 8th February 2000. They will finally be placed into a 1349x1333km
orbit inclined at 52 degrees. Operational service was started on the 12th October 1999.
More...
[SSHP Globalstar constellation data]
Artist impression (right) courtesy of Space Systems Loral
- TSX-5,
(P95-2), 2000-30A, (26374)
- Following on from four previous STEP missions, the 250kg Tri Service Experiment mission
5 mission by the Space Technology Program (STP) at the Space and Missiles Centre, Test and
Evaluation (SMC/TELS) at Kirland AFB, New Mexico was launched on the 7th June from VAFB on
a Pegasus-XL into a 406x1706km orbit inclined at 69 degrees. The satellite was procured
from CTA Space Systems (now ORBITAL), costing US$85m, and uses the LEOSTAR bus based on
the earlier STEP missions. It carries two all-service payloads. STRV-2 is BMDO sponsored
vibration suppression and infra-red imaging payload (MWIR) with collaboration from UK DERA. This
is to image aircraft at perigee and then downlink data via laser communications link.
CEASE (Compact Environmental Anomaly Sensor) is a spacecraft radiation and charging sensor
sponsored by Phillips Lab Geophysics Lab. The Laser high speed downlink
communications experiment is reported to have failed. The spacecraft mission is to last 6 months for
each experiment with the goal of 1 year. This was reached successfully in
June 2001.
- [TSX at SMC][TSX-5]
Artist impression (right) courtesy of ORBITAL
- Champ,
2000-039A (26405)
- Champ (Challenging Mini-Satellite Payload) is a research spacecraft sponsored by the
German Space Agency DLR. It was launched on a COSMOS-3M on the 15th July
2000 from
Plesetsk. The 522kg "electric guitar" shaped spacecraft was placed into a 460km orbit
inclined at 87.3 degrees. The satellite was built by a team led by Jena-Optronic GmbH
(Germany) and will be operated from GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ) Potsdam, and aids in the
study of the Earth's gravity and magnetic fields, and is also used to conduct atmospheric
and ionospheric research over in a 5 year mission. It will measure simultaneous gravity
and magnetic fields. It also observes ionospheric occultation of GPS satellites via a GPS
receiver, which it is believed may allow electron content, temperature and relative
humidity to be determined. It carries a 4m boom with magnetometer instruments, and 7
square metres of solar array area. The spacecraft is 3-axis stabilised and Earth pointing,
and carries 14 nitrogen cold gas attitude thrusters. More...
[DLR Future missions page][Champ at Potsdam]
References
- [1] Cosmos rocket launches science and technology
satellites/ S. Clark. - Spaceflight Now, 15JUL2000. (http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0007/15champ/).
[2] Jonathan's Space Report, No. 430 (http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~jcm/space/jsr/back)
- Artist impression (right) courtesy of Jena Optotronic
- Mita-0,
2000-039B (26406)
- The Microsatellite Italiano di Technologia Avanzata (MITA) is a 169.9kg minisatellite by
Carlo Gavvazio Space S.p.a. (Italy, and is based on their SAGE bus. It was launched on a
COSMOS-3M on the 15th July 2000, and placed into a 460km 87.3 degree orbit with the CHAMP
mission as the primary payload. It is funded by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and is led
by Carlo Gavazzi Space with Contraves Italiana as sub-contractor. The purpose is to
demonstrate the capabilities of the Italian aerospace industry. The bus measures 1450 x
400 x 620 mm, and carries a It carries a MicroTechSensor for Attitude and Orbit
Measurement (MTS-AOMS), which combines an Earth sensor, star sensor and magnetometers into
a single package. It also carries the NINA particle detector and is also believed to carry
a high bit rate data collection and distribution payload.256kbps at 2.2GHz, 9600bps at
400MHz.. The spacecraft was reported operational in April 2001, but
re-entered in August 2001.
[Carlo Gavazzi][Carlo Gavazzi Space S.P.A.][Carlo Gavazzi at fuchs-gruppe]
- [Carlo Gavazzi Space S.P.A][Carlo Gavazi Space S.P.A.][Mita
at OHB]
http://www.cgspace.it/
- References
- [1] Cosmos rocket launches science and technology
satellites/ S. Clark. - Spaceflight Now, 15JUL2000. (http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0007/15champ/).
[2] Jonathan's Space Report, No. 430 (http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~jcm/space/jsr/back)
- [3] "MITA: In-orbit
resuts of the Italian small platform and the first Earth observation mission
HypSEO", P.Sabatini, R.Aceti, T.Lupi, G.Annoni, F.Dalla Vedova, v.de
Cosmo, F. Viola, 3rd Symposium of the International Acedemy of Astronautics,
Berlin, Germany, April 2001.
- [4] "A small glance to
Earth from space", S.Zoffoli, M.Crisconio, C.Musso, G.F.Bignami, 3rd
Symposium of the International Acedemy of Astronautics, Berlin, Germany,
April 2001.
Photos courtesy of Carlo Gavazzi Space
-
- MIGHTYSAT-2.1
(Sindri) ,2000-042A (26414)
- Mightysat is a technology demonstration small satellite launched on the 19th July 2000
on an OSP Minotaur into a 547x583 inclined at 97.8 degrees. In a US$23.5m program, five satellite busses have been procured
from Spectrum Astro by the US Air Force Philips lab
space experiments directorate. After an 18 month delay, the contract price for the series
was reviewed in 1997. MightySat-2 weighs 130kg with 60kg payload mass, and measures 680mm diameter and 910mm
long. Originally the platform was proposed to carry a pulsed plasma thruster or
resistojet, in order to maintain orbital height if launched from the shuttle. The initial
aim was that satellites in this series will be launched every 12-18 months.
MightySat-I,
the earlier satellite in the series is
a microsatellite launched in 1998.
Mightysat-II carries 380 MByte solid state storage, a 1Mbps downlink and
2kbps uplink. It also carries various unproven technologies for space test. SAC which concentrates
sunlight onto solar cells thus increasing their efficiency. NSX is an ultra-light weight
communications unit by NRL, and MFCBS is a multifunctional composite bus structure
including power, thermal and structural functions. FTHSI is a Fourier Transform
hyperspectral imager. QS40 is a microelectronic radiation damage monitor, and SMATTE
investigates the bimodal behaviour of "memory-metal" materials. SAFI employs
embedded copper wires in a composite film to reduce component weight.
The spacecraft also carried two MEPSI series pico-satellites similar to those launched
from the JAWSAT/OPAL microsatellites in February 2000. These were deployed in
September 2001. MightySat-2.1 finally
decayed on the12th November 2002. More...
[MightySAT-II at
Spectrum Astro][Mightysat at USAF][MightySat-2
at AFRL-VS]
References
[1] Orbital set for second minotaur launch, spacedaily, 18 July 2000, (http://www.spacedaily.com/news/minotaur-00b.html)
Picture courtesy of Spectrum Astro.
-
 HETE-II,
2000-061A
- The replacement for HETE which was left fixed to the launcher due to a failure of the
Pegasus deployment circuits in late 1996. The High Energy Transient Experiment
spacecraft
will carry an X-ray detector in order to determine the source of gamma ray bursts, and an
additional soft X-ray camera. It is expected that up to 1000 gamma ray bursts will be
identified and up to 30 of these will result in detailed location and spectral
characteristic measurements. The spacecraft was launched on the 9th October 2000 on a
Pegasus launcher from Kwajalein Missile range in the Pacific Ocean. The 150kg spacecraft
was placed into a 637x650km orbit inclined at 1.8 degrees, and was built by MIT (US)
staff partly using systems left over from the original HETE programme. The spacecraft is
expected to cost NASA US$8.4m, and a Pegasus-XL launch worth approximately US$14m.
Japanese and French contributions add to about US$10m. The mission lifetime is 4 years.
More...
[HETE pages at MIT]
References
[1] New craft watching Universe for violent explosions, S.Clark, Spaceflight now,
11Feb2001 (http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0102/11hete2/)
[2] NASA'S HETE SPOTS RARE GAMMA-RAY BURST AFTERGLOW, SpaceFlightNow
1Nov2001, ["http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0111/08hete/"]
-
- Phase-3D,
2000-072B
- Phase-3D is an AMSAT 400kg
class mini-satellite project, and was to be launched in late 1997 on Ariane-502 into a 200
x 36000 orbit (GTO), inclined at 7 degrees. Unfortunately, the Ariane launch environment
on Ariane 501 was found to be worse then expected, and the required structural
strengthening could not be accomplished in time. The satellite was finally launched on the
ARIANE V507 into Geostationary Transfer Orbit. It uses a bi-propellant engine to raise the
perigee to 4000km and the apogee to 47000km, and its inclination to 63.4 degrees into a
modified 16h Molnia orbit. It will support a wide range of amateur communications using a
sophisticated range of analogue, and digital Store and Forward transponders. The satellite
is designed for a 10 year lifetime. More...
[Daily photo essay of construction]
 STRV-1c, 1d
2000-072C/D - The Space Technology Research Vehicles (STRV 1 c&d) were launched on the 15th
November 2000 on the ARIANE-5 V135 ASAP into Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO,
600x35786km inclined at 7 degrees). The spacecraft were built by the Defence Evaluation
Research Agency (DERA) in the UK, with a wide range of experimental payloads from many
sources. Payloads will include evaluation of Multi-Chip Modules (MCM) and are sponsored by
the UK MOD, US BMDO, US Air Force, ESA, Canadian DRE and others.
The satellites are reported to gave failed in orbit after two weeks due to a
faulty design which caused continuous electrical power rather than a pulsed
supply to be applied to a relay which blew fuses and tripped switches in
receivers.
- More...
[STRV at DERA]
Picture courtesy of DERA.
-
 SAC-C,
2000-
- An Argentinean 467kg minisatellite build by INVAP for the
Argentinean space agency (CONAE), with collaboration from the US,
Brazil, France, Denmark and Italy. It was launched on the 21st November
2000 on a DELTA-2 from Vandenberg Air Force Base into
a 698x1800km orbit. The spacecraft carries a 11 experiments. A
scientific magnetometer, a multispectral camera at 170m GSD imager in 5
spectral bands, and a panchromatic camera at 35m GSD, A GPS occultation
experiment, . The spacecraft is reported to have cost US$30m (1998), with
NASA contributing US$2m for a magnetometer and Blackbeard GPS receiver.
More...
[SAC-C at CONAE]
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