|
Other Designations: Experimental Spacecraft System. Class: Technology. Destination: Low Earth Orbit. Nation: USA. Agency: AFRL. Manufacturer: AFRL. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) built and demonstrated a new class of low-cost satellites -- referred to as "micro-satellites" -- weighing less than 100 kilograms. These new satellites were flown under the Experimental Spacecraft System (XSS) Microsatellite Demonstration Project. In conjunction with the Air Force Space Command, Air Force Space and Missiles Systems Center, the Naval Research Laboratory, and industry, missions evaluated future applications of micro-satellite technologies to include: inspection; rendezvous and docking; repositioning; and techniques for close proximity maneuvering around orbital assets.
Key technologies
- Lightweight propulsion system
- Guidance, navigation & control (GNC)
- Miniaturized communications system
- Primary lithium polymer batteries
- Integrated camera and star sensor
Mass: 28 kg (61 lb). Associated Launch Vehicle: Delta 7000.
XSS Chronology - 2003 January 29 - XSS-10 - Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Vehicle: Delta 7000. Mass: 28 kg (61 lb). Perigee: 524 km (325 mi). Apogee: 811 km (503 mi). Inclination: 39.75 deg. Period: 97.95 min.
On-orbit servicing technology demonstrator. XSS-10, a 28 kilogram microsatellite, was launched as a secondary payload aboard the Delta 2 launch vehicle carrying a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) satellite. The mission demonstrated the complex interactions of line-of-sight guidance with basic inertial maneuvering. The micro-satellite was attached to the Delta 2 second stage. Once the second stage separated from the GPS satellite, the microsatellite waited for a sunlit Air Force Space Control Network pass before ejecting from the second stage. Once ejected, the microsatellite commenced an autonomous inspection sequence around the second stage, and live video was transmitted to ground stations. The entire mission lasted only 24 hours. Launch delayed from June 11 and August 16, 2001; March 6, April 29, August 11 and November 7, 2002.
- 2005 April 11 - USA 165 - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Vehicle: Minotaur. Mass: 145 kg (319 lb). Perigee: 840 km (520 mi). Apogee: 872 km (541 mi). Inclination: 98.80 deg. Period: 102.10 min.
Delayed from November 9, 2004; January 19, March 18, 2005. Military Autonomous Rendezvous Technology. It tested navigation technologies for rendezvous that directly measured relative position to the target satellite. It was have to rendezvoused with several defunct American satellites. However it was only known to have conducted operations with its own Minotaur upper stage
Bibliography and Further Reading
|