Picosatellites Launched Aboard Converted Minuteman II Booster

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (2/7/00) -- Two picosatellites designed by The Aerospace Corporation and funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency were successfully launched into space aboard a converted Minuteman II booster from Vandenberg Air Force Base Jan. 26.

The satellites weigh less than one-half pound each and measure 4-by-3-by-1 inches.

They were contained in a "mother" satellite, called OPAL, built by Stanford University students.

OPAL, the Orbiting Picosat Automated Launcher, was one of several university-built satellites carried into low Earth orbit by the new Air Force Orbital Suborbital Program (OSP) launch vehicle, which combines surplus Minuteman II and Pegasus XL rocket motors.

Picosat Release Set for Feb. 6

Plans called for the DARPA/Aerospace picosatellites, among six picosats carried by OPAL, to be the first released. Stanford students initially encountered a number of difficulties in attempting to establish good communications with OPAL, but were successful in doing so on Feb. 2 and 3. They were confident that they would be able to command release of the picosats on their next attempt scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 6.

Aerospace engineers reported early Monday, Feb. 7, that commands for release were given Sunday evening and Monday morning and that a report from OPAL confirming release was received. But they were not able to immediately detect a beacon signal from the satellites.

Providing important assistance in tracking OPAL was the U.S. Space Command's Space Surveillance Network. The network will also be the key resource in locating and tracking the tiny DARPA/Aerospace picosats.

Aerospace engineers hoped to receive confirmation from the Space Surveillance Network by late Monday afternoon that the picosats were released.

The primary goal of the DARPA/Aerospace picosasts on this mission is to validate microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) radio frequency switches designed by Rockwell Science Center, Thousand Oaks, Calif. Other MEMS devices are to be validated on subsequent picosat missions. The current mission also is designed to demonstrate the principles of how constellations of nanosatellites, slightly larger than picosats, will operate in the future.

Next Mission Mid-June

Another DARPA/Aerospace picosat mission involving an OSP booster and an Air Force Research Laboratory MightySat 2.1 satellite is scheduled for mid-June. Plans call for the picosats to be released on command from MightySat 2.1 after spending specified time on orbit. A more complex mission is planned for 2003.