Space Test Program
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The Space Test Program (STP) is the primary provider of
Past activities
This section is missing information about activities prior to 2001.(August 2023) |
STP has actually been in existence for 50 years as of 2019, with several thousand launches it has been responsible for. For example, the initial experiments that led to the modern Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite constellation were STP-launched projects.
2001
During August 2001, STP conducted two successful activities using the Space Shuttle and ISS. STS-105 delivered and successfully deployed the Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) externally on the ISS. MISSE was a passive materials exposure experiment, was the first external experiment on ISS. In addition, STS-105 retrieved and returned MACE II (Middeck Active Control Experiment II) from the ISS. MACE II was the first internal experiment on ISS and was operated for nearly a year.[1]
On 30 September 2001, STP and
STP and the Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) Space Vehicles Directorate developed a secondary payload adapter ring for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV), which can host up to six 180 kg (400 lb) microsatellites. STP also worked closely with NASA and the United States Navy on the Geosynchronous Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer / Indian Ocean Meteorology and Oceanography Imager project.[citation needed]
In December 2001, STS-108 hosted the Shuttle Ionospheric Modification with Pulsed Localized Exhaust (SIMPLEX) experiment. SIMPLEX observed ionospheric disturbances created by the Space Shuttle engine burns via ground radar sites and supported plume technology, plume signature, and space weather modeling.[citation needed]
2002
SIMPLEX flew again on STS-110 in April 2002.[citation needed] STP also worked to obtain a 1-year radio frequency license extension for the Picosat experiment launched on the Kodiak Star mission, in September 2001.[citation needed]
2003
On 6 January 2003, STP and the
2007
On 9 March 2007, six satellites were launched into
The satellites were:- Orbital Express: ASTRO and NextSat, (DARPA)
- MidSTAR-1, (United States Naval Academy)
- FalconSat3, (United States Air Force Academy)
- STPSat 1, USAF's Space Test Program
- CFESat, (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
The satellites shared the launcher through use of an Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA).[5] United Launch Alliance provided a video feed of the launch.[6]
2008
The C/NOFS (Communications/Navigation Outage Forecasting System) satellite, which was launched on 16 April 2008, was operated by the Space Test Program.
2010
The third
2013
2014
As announced on 14 October 2014, the United States Department of Defense awarded Sierra Nevada Corporation's Space Systems (previously known as SpaceDev) with a contract to develop and build a next-generation science and technology demonstration satellite, known as STPSat-5, for their Space Test Program.[11][unreliable source?]
2019
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/STP-2_Payload_stack.png/220px-STP-2_Payload_stack.png)
The STP-2 (DoD Space Test Program) payload launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy on 25 June 2019.[12][clarification needed]
Included was
STP-2 also deployed a number of CubeSats as
The STPSat-4 satellite was launched on 2 November 2019 onboard the
2021
(SpaceX had bid a Falcon Heavy in December 2016 for this launch.[26]) The STP-3 mission was originally scheduled to be launched on a ULA Atlas V 551 launch vehicle in 2020.[26][27] It was launched on 7 December 2021 at 10:19 UTC.[28]
STP-3 includes the STPSat-6 satellite with the Space and Atmospheric Burst Reporting System-3 (SABRS-3) for National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) payload for NASA, and seven secondary payloads for the U.S. Air Force. STPSat-6 is destined for an orbit slightly above the geostationary orbit.[27]
2023
The STP-27VPD mission was launched on
The STP-CR2301 mission was successfully launched on a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket on 12 June 2023 as part of the Transporter-8 rideshare mission.[33] The mission consisted of two Modular Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (MISR) cubesats to demonstrate two-way communications with ground devices and the XVI cubesat to test the capacity of the Link-16 network to communicate to space.[34]
References
- ^ "2001 Aeronautics and Space Report of the President". NASA.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ NASA: Kodiak Star 2001 Archived 2012-03-24 at the Wayback Machine
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "WINDSAT Project Description". NOAA. Archived from the original on 9 November 2005.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Space Test Program (STP) Payloads". Gunter's Space Page. 2 November 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ "Atlas V Multiple and Secondary Payload Carriers" (PDF). Lockheed Martin.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Atlas V launch". YouTube.
- ^ Brinton, Turner. "Air Force's STP-S26 Mission Loaded with New Technologies". SpaceNews. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
- ^ a b "STPSat-2 Experimental Satellite". Retrieved 19 December 2017.
- ^ STPSat-2
- ^ spaceflightinsider.com: ORS-3 and Minotaur 1 launch tiny CubeSats full of big promise
- ^ "US DoD awards STPSat-5 satellite production contract to Sierra Nevada". airforce-technology,com. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
- ^ "SpaceX ready for most-challenging flight with Falcon Heavy's STP-2 mission". NASASpaceFlight.com. 24 June 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- ^ a b "Mission Requirements Document (MRD) FA8818-12-R-0026 T.O. SM-2.4".
- ^ "NARLabs-FORMOSAT-7-COSMIC-2-Mission". NARLabs.
- ^ "DSX (Cygnus)". Gunter's Space Page.
- ^ STP-2
- ^ a b "Lightsail". Planetary Society. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
- ^ "Oculus-ASR". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- ^ "About Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM)". NASA. 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM)". Ball Aerospace. 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
- ^ "The Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM)" (PDF). Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. March 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
- ^ "Deep Space Atomic Clock". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. NASA. 27 April 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Kater, Bill (29 January 2020). "ISS Daily Summary Report – 1/29/2020". NASA. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
- ^ Krebs, Gunter. "STPSat 4". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
- ^ Krebs, Gunter (2 November 2019). "STPSat 4". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
- ^ a b Swarts, Phillip (29 June 2017). "ULA wins competition for US$191 million Air Force launch". SpaceNews. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
- ^ a b Krebs, Gunter (5 December 2021). "STPSat 6". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
- ^ "Fuel leak at launch pad delays Atlas 5 mission". Spaceflight Now. 5 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ Grush, Lauren (9 January 2023). "Virgin Orbit Rocket Suffers Failure During First UK Flight - BNN Bloomberg". BNN Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
- ^ Krebs, Gunter. "Space Test Program (STP) Payloads". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
- ^ Krebs, Gunter. "CIRCE 1, 2". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
- ^ Krebs, Gunter. "Prometheus 2". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
- ^ "Space Systems Command successfully launches three satellites for U.S. Space Force from California on SpaceX Transporter-8 mission" (PDF). Space Systems Command (Press release). 12 June 2023.
- ^ "Space Systems Command, Spaceflight Inc. Prepare for Launch of Experimental Satellites". Space Systems Command (Press release). 10 June 2023.