The aim of the UN Naval Academy's Midshipman Space Technology Applications Research (MidSTAR) Program was to develop a general-purpose satellite bus capable of supporting a variety of space missions by easily accommodating a wide range of space experiments and instruments.

The integration of the experiments with the satellite bus could be accomplished with minimal changes to the satellite bus design. MidSTAR was intended to be a relatively low-cost, quick response platform accommodating small payloads approved by the Department of Defense (DoD) Space Experiments Review Board (SERB) and launched through the DoD Space Test Program (STP).

MidSTAR satellites were of two types. MidSTAR mod 1 was designed for use on the Expendable Secondary Payload Adaptor (ESPA) Ring developed by Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) for placement on Delta IV or Atlas V expendable launch vehicles. MidSTAR mod 2 was to have been designed for deployment from the Space Shuttle via the Canister All Payload Ejection (CAPE) system developed by AFRL.

The baseline MidSTAR mission included a single spacecraft under the command and control of a single satellite ground station located at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. The ground station forwarded downlinked data files to the Principal Investigators via the Internet. Secondary ground control was available through Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey California.

Length: 0.10 m (0.32 ft). Basic Diameter: 0.19 m (0.62 ft). Maximum Diameter: 0.19 m (0.62 ft). Mass: 120 kg (260 lb).

• 2007 March 9 - Midstar 1 - Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Vehicle: Atlas V. Mass: 120 kg (260 lb). Perigee: 495 km (307 mi). Apogee: 498 km (309 mi). Inclination: 46.00 deg. Period: 94.50 min.

  MidSTAR-1 was flown under the DoD Space Test Program and carried the Internet Communications Satellite (ICSat) Experiment (SERB 2002-39) and the Configurable Fault Tolerant Processor (CFTP) Experiment for the Naval Postgraduate School (SERB 2002-34). Planned mission duration was two years.