On this SSO-A launch, a Sherpa(-0) payload carriing ring will be debuted.This was reported in the Spacenews Q&A Curt Blake article.Most likely the bulbous ring is the maiden Sherpa-0 (without propulsion module).
I assume Arkyd-6 is still flying here?
http://www.comnews.ru/content/110183/2017-10-25/kazahstan-vzyalsya-za-sozdanie-sputnikovGoogle translateQuoteInitially, KazSTSAT was planned to be launched on the Dnepr rocket, but due to the temporary collapse of the launch services operator Kosmotras, the Kazakh side opted for the US SpaceX launch vehicle. Vice Minister of Defense and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan Marat Nurguzhin said at the conference "Kazakhstan's path to space 2017" that the launch is scheduled for April 2018 - simultaneously with the second Kazakhstans scientific satellite, which will be based on CubeSat technology.
Initially, KazSTSAT was planned to be launched on the Dnepr rocket, but due to the temporary collapse of the launch services operator Kosmotras, the Kazakh side opted for the US SpaceX launch vehicle. Vice Minister of Defense and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan Marat Nurguzhin said at the conference "Kazakhstan's path to space 2017" that the launch is scheduled for April 2018 - simultaneously with the second Kazakhstans scientific satellite, which will be based on CubeSat technology.
Quote from: Robotbeat on 10/21/2017 05:13 amI assume Arkyd-6 is still flying here?Still? Was Arkyd-6 supposed to be on this flight? Gunter shows it on PSLV.
One of the NGSO constellations that has applied to the FCC is from Audacy. They're planning something a little different from most of the other constellations: a data relay service operating from MEO that other satellites can use for data and TT&C communications instead of communicating directly with ground stations.
Mission Overview:Audacy Zero is a 3U CubeSat demonstration mission to test out Audacy’s user communicationsterminal and first ground station in the San Francisco Bay Area. The spacecraft is consistent with theCubeSat standard with stowed dimensions of 11.12 cm x 11.12 cm x 34.05 cm (L x W x H). The totalmass is estimated to be 4.7 kg. Audacy Zero is launching to a 575 km sun-synchronous orbit, whichcan lead to a total mission lifetime of 4.4 years.Audacy Zero will utilize a prototype communications terminal operating in the K and K a bands with ahigh gain and a low gain antenna. Primary data transmission will focus on telemetry, tracking, andcommand (TT&C) from the communications terminal and subsystems to maintain successfuloperations and analysis of the terminal hardware. Payload data includes pictures and videos takenfrom an on-board camera and occasional transmissions from a secondary optical communicationspayload.Launch Vehicle: SpaceX Falcon 9Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, USAMission Duration: Up to 4.4 years until Audacy Zero reenters via atmospheric orbital decayassuming the expected atmospheric drag profile.Launch and Deployment Profile: The Falcon 9 launch vehicle will launch into roughly circular 575km 97.9° sun-synchronous orbit. Upon confirmation of final stage burn-out, the primary andsecondary payloads will be dispensed from the payload fairing. The primary payload is from TerraBella/Planet. Audacy Zero will deploy to the following orbit:Apogee: 575 kmPerigee: 575 kmInclination: 97.9°Audacy Zero has no propulsion and will not actively change orbits or engage in a parking or transferorbit.
Polar Orbiting INfrared Tracking Receiver (POINTR) is an in flight demonstration of an optical receiver pointing, acquisition and tracking (PAT) system. The optical receiver payload hosted on Audacy’s 3U cubesat would be pointed to the ground to acquire and track a beacon laser sent from a suitable ground facility, currently proposed as NASA JPL’s OCTL facility. This mission would demonstrate the operational and technical requirements related to two satellites establishing an optical communications link with each other. The requirements include mission planning, command and execution of a pointing maneuver, acquisition of an incoming optical signal and tracking of the optical signal. It is planned to launch in early 2018.
...a satellite about the size of a refrigerator is being pieced together by a small team of workers wearing lab coats. It’s the ORS group’s sixth satellite. If all goes as planned, airmen here at Kirtland will use the satellite to measure the height and direction of the sea.The satellite is being built through a unique arrangement here on a military base, not at some far-off defense contractor factory. Its bus and payload — made, respectively, by Northrop Grumman and the California Institute of Technology’s Jet Propulsion Lab — were built for other projects that didn’t materialize. A company called Millennium Engineering is putting it all together.When it heads to orbit next year, it will launch on a SpaceX rocket with other non-military satellites, a ride-share arrangement that one Air Force official compared to taking a bus instead of driving alone in a car. The price is a mere $10 million, a fraction of what it would cost to fly on its own rocket, said Lt. Col. Eric Moomey, chief of programs in the Operationally Responsive Space office.
ORS-6 and ORS-7 will launch together next spring. ORS-6 will track ocean winds while ORS-7 will address a Department of Homeland Security need.
One of the Coast Guard’s partners, the Science and Technology branch of the Department of Homeland Security, is taking advantage of “rideshare opportunities” for launching the two 10-centimeter cubesats in the third quarter of 2018, a service spokesman told Defense Daily on Monday.
This article from August does imply Polar Scout cubesats would be on SSO-A:[kafbnucleus.com] ORS marks 10th anniversary, achievementsQuoteORS-6 and ORS-7 will launch together next spring. ORS-6 will track ocean winds while ORS-7 will address a Department of Homeland Security need.This article from mid-December mentions Polar Scout launching in the third quarter:[Defense Daily] Coast Guard Planning Launch Of First SatellitesQuoteOne of the Coast Guard’s partners, the Science and Technology branch of the Department of Homeland Security, is taking advantage of “rideshare opportunities” for launching the two 10-centimeter cubesats in the third quarter of 2018, a service spokesman told Defense Daily on Monday.What does that mean for the SSO-A launch date? I'm not really sure. If you see any reports of moving dates for the other payloads please post a note.
Updated payload list is already on the USA Schedule. Some payloads were originally planned on other launches such as Minotaur-C and Delta-II.
Man - this thing looks like a love child between a Soyuz spacecraft and the robot from Lost in Space.It's a very interesting concept for sure. I am curious as to why there seems to be such dead space in it? Is there a propulsion unit? Are there separation rings between the various segments in the stack? Is there an official count for all the satellites manifested on the SSO-A? Sorry for all the questions - I just tuned into this thread, and scanned the five pages of posts before posting my own.
A team of oceanic researchers from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington is preparing to launch a new CubeSat this summer, dubbed SeaHawk 1. The satellite will fly into orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9, as part of Spaceflight Industries’ first dedicated rideshare mission, Sun-Synchronous Orbit A (SSO-A)....“Right now it’s costing us around $500,000 to build one of these satellites, and on the order of $250,000 for launch operations with Spaceflight.”
We’ll also launch two more high resolution SkySats and another batch of Doves on a SpaceX Falcon 9.