Thursday, June 22, 2006

Microspacecraft Launch

A Delta II launch on June 21 from Cape Canaveral carried the first microsatellites intended for transfer to geostationary orbit (GEO). The MiTEx upper stage, developed by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) will carry the MiTEx satellites and release them in GEO as part of a microsatellite technology experiment led by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) evaluate the military utility of small satellites.

COMMENTS: It looks like this is a welcome step forward for an area of space technology I've long felt was underused. Microspacecraft (roughly, those of 100kg or less, though some are larger) will not replace large spacecraft for missions like bulk communications traffic, but they could well be a useful part of a "high-low-mix" of military spacecraft. Micros don't offer the cost-effectiveness of large spacecraft for missions like comm, but they offer lower total mission cost and faster responsiveness.

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