ORS 3

ORS 3 similar

ORS 3 (Operationally Responsive Space 3) is the third mission of the ORS program. In contrast to the first two missions, it will not be a satellite, but experimental avionics for the launch vehicle, which are mounted in the avionics section of the last stage.

The goal of the ORS Office is to develop the capability to rapidly reconfigure, launch, and operate space vehicles in a matter of days.

The flight's primary objective is testing space-based rocket tracking technology and an autonomous termination system smart enough to destroy the rocket if it flies off course. The Air Force is migrating toward using GPS receivers on rockets to avoid the overhead costs of legacy radar trackers. The next step will be for launch vehicles to track themselves, comparing real-time GPS positions to predicted values, and issuing a command to destroy itself if it veers too far from its planned flight path.

The payloads onboard of the last stage are:

• SoM/DoM – a passive aero-drag de-orbit system to accelerate orital decay, similar to the one aboard STPSat 3. It was developed under the Space Test Program.
• The Minotaur rocket will also carry a system to monitor its own ascent: AFSS (Autonomous Flight Safety System) – a demonstration system for use during the ascent phase of the launch that uses on-board tracking and processing to terminate an errant launch vehicle.

ORS 3 will be integrated into a Orbital Sciences Corporation Minotaur-1 launch vehicle to be launched in 2013 from Wallops Island. It will carry STPSat 3 and 16 cubesats as a secondary payload.