STPSat-1

STPSat-1 was launched on March 8, 2007, into Low Earth Orbit as one of the payloads on the maiden flight of the EELV Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA) ring aboard an Atlas V launch vehicle (AV-013 / STP-1). The vehicle was decommissioned October 8, 2009 - far exceeding its one year life design requirement. STPSat-1 was a highly capable three-axis stabilized space platform without redundant hardware components. The satellite also exceeded the data collection requirements of the two Navy experiments onboard: the Spatial Heterodyne Imager for Mesospheric Radicals (SHIMMER) and the Computerized Ionospheric Tomography Receiver in Space (CITRIS). Comtech AeroAstro (CAA) designed, built, and tested the spacecraft bus and integrated the SHIMMER and CITRIS payloads. CAA also provided launch integration support, launch and early orbit operations support, and post-launch mission operations support.

For the first year on-orbit, the project was sponsored by the DoD Space Test Program. The Naval Research Laboratory, which built the SHIMMER and CITRIS payloads, operated STPSat-1 for the last 17 months from their Blossom Point facility near LaPlata, Maryland in southern Charles County. These operations were highly automated and demonstrated a low-cost operations approach that supported the extended mission life. The mission extension was co-sponsored by the Office of Naval Research and NASA.

For more information on AeroAstro’s STPSat-1 spacecraft, please download our product data sheet. [download PDF]

STP-SIV

The Standard Interface Vehicle (SIV) provides Multi-Mission high reliability and performance. The innovative SIV design includes a separable Payload Standard Interface Module that may be integrated in parallel with the bus to support accelerated launch schedules and reduce technical risk.

The SIV bus utilizes a standard payload interface to accommodate a variety of payload configuration in low earth orbits from 400 - 850km. The spacecraft supports, without design change, a wide range of inclinations with a minimum one-year lifetime. SIV features high mass and power margins, flight-proven heritage components, and a highly integrated mechanical and thermal design. It incorporates a flexible zero-momentum ACS, fixed and articulated solar arrays, integrated C&DH and power avionics, and a high-reliability SGLS transponder. AeroAstro is under contract to design and build up to six spacecraft buses under the SIV contract, and to provide integration, launch and mission operations support.

AeroAstro is prime contractor for STPSat-1, from which the STP-SIV spacecraft bus is largely derived. The STP-SIV spacecraft will simplify and accelerate access to space for critical new technologies.

For more information on AeroAstro’s STP-SIV spacecraft, please download our product data sheet. [download PDF]

ESPA Ring Interface

The Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Secondary Payload Adapter, or ESPA, is a ring placed under an EELV primary payload that supports up to six 180-kg secondary spacecraft. By utilizing excess EELV capacity, ESPA increases the launch availability and reduces the launch cost for secondary payloads. ESPA rings are transparent to the EELV primary payload, so ESPA satellites are protected from primary payload manifest changes. The ESPA ring is shown here with the SIV spacecraft attached.