NPSat1 [NPS]
NPSAT 1 (Naval Postgraduate School Satellite 1) is a low-cost satellite designed by the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) hosting a number of space flight experiments to investigate space weather and the flight demonstration of space technology.
Commercial, off-the-shelf (COTS)-based technology will be implemented with custom designs to offer a low-cost command and data handling (C&DH) subsystem building on commercial, desktop PC architecture and standards-based specifications.
In addition to an experimental C&DH subsystem, NPSAT1 will demonstrate the use of non-volatile ferroelectric RAM which is inherently radiation-tolerant and a lithium-ion battery, state-of-the-art technology that will be employed offering high energy density (Watt-hr/kg) for space applications.
Experiments on-board NPSAT1 include two Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) payloads:
The CERTO experiment is a radio beacon which, in concert with ground station receivers, is used to measure total-electron-content (TEC) in the ionosphere. The Langmuir probe will augment CERTO data by providing on-orbit measurements.
The other experiments are of NPS origin.
NPSAT1 was to be launched in 2007 on the STP-1 mission with ASTRO, NEXTSat/CSC, STPSat 1, CFESat, MidSTAR 1, FalconSat 3, but was delayed.
The SMS experiment was later also flown on a dedicated cubesat mission, NPS-SCAT.
Finally, NPSAT1 was manifested on the STP-2 mission in 2017 on a Falcon-Heavy (Block 5) rocket and was launched in June 2019.
Nation: | USA |
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Type / Application: | Technology |
Operator: | US Air Force (USAF) STP (Space Test Program) |
Contractors: | Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) |
Equipment: | CERTO, Langmuir-Probe, VISIM imager |
Configuration: | |
Propulsion: | |
Power: | Solar cells, batteries |
Lifetime: | |
Mass: | 86 kg |
Orbit: | 710 km × 721 km, 24.00° |
Satellite | COSPAR | Date | LS | Launch Vehicle | Remarks | |
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NPSat1 | 2019-036B | 25.06.2019 | CCK LC-39A | Falcon-Heavy (Block 5) | with DSX , FORMOSAT 7A, 7B, 7C, 7D, 7E, 7F, GPIM, OTB 1, Oculus-ASR, Prox 1, LightSail 2, ARMADILLO, FalconSat 7, E-TBEx A, E-TBEx B, PSat 2, BRICSat 2, Prometheus 2.6, Prometheus Mass Model, TEPCE 1, 2, CP 9 (LEO), StangSat |