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Mandrake 2A, 2B (Able, Baker)

Mandrake 2 [SDA]

Mandrake 2 is a technology demonstration mission conducted under DARPA's Blackjack program as a risk-reduction mission consisting of two satellites.

The twin Mandrake 2 satellites will carry optical inter-satellite links for broadband data. According to DARPA these could form the basis of future optically meshed networks in LEO. The satellites were made in just nine months by Astro Digital with optical links from SA Photonics.

The launch was planned for early 2021 on the SpaceX multi satellite mission "Transporter 1". When the satellites were to be mounted on the payload stack, the deployment mechanism was accidently activated, which led to damage to both payloads. The satellites then flew later on the "Transporter 2" mission.

Nation:	USA
Type / Application:	Technology
Operator:	DARPA
Contractors:	Astro Digital (bus); SA Photonics (payload)
Equipment:	optical inter-satellite link payload
Configuration:
Propulsion:
Power:	Solar cells, batteries
Lifetime:
Mass:
Orbit:

Satellite	COSPAR	Date	LS		Launch Vehicle	Remarks
Mandrake 2A (Able)	2021-059AE	30.06.2021	CC SLC-40		Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5)	with Starlink v1.5 R1-1, ..., R1-3, Umbra-SAR 2001, YAM 2, YAM 3, ÑuSat 19, ..., 22, ICEYE X11, X12, X13, X15, TUBIN, Mandrake 2B, Capella 5, GNOMES 2, LINCS 1, 2, PACE 1, TROPICS 01, D2/AtlaCom 1, EG 3, Centauri 4, Lemur-2 140, ..., 145, SpaceBEE 88, ..., 111, SpaceBEENZ 7, ..., 10, Sherpa-FX 2, Lynk 06, Hawk 3A, 3B, 3C, Astrocast 0201, ..., 0205, Painani 2, Sherpa-LTE 1, Tenzing, Aurora, Arthur 1, Faraday Phoenix, KSF 1A, ..., 1D, Tiger 2, ION-SCV 003, NAPA 2, Spartan, Neptuno, W-Cube, Ghalib, QMR-KWT
Mandrake 2B (Baker)	2021-059AF	30.06.2021	CC SLC-40		Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5)	with Starlink v1.5 R1-1, ..., R1-3, Umbra-SAR 2001, YAM 2, YAM 3, ÑuSat 19, ..., 22, ICEYE X11, X12, X13, X15, TUBIN, Mandrake 2A, Capella 5, GNOMES 2, LINCS 1, 2, PACE 1, TROPICS 01, D2/AtlaCom 1, EG 3, Centauri 4, Lemur-2 140, ..., 145, SpaceBEE 88, ..., 111, SpaceBEENZ 7, ..., 10, Sherpa-FX 2, Lynk 06, Hawk 3A, 3B, 3C, Astrocast 0201, ..., 0205, Painani 2, Sherpa-LTE 1, Tenzing, Aurora, Arthur 1, Faraday Phoenix, KSF 1A, ..., 1D, Tiger 2, ION-SCV 003, NAPA 2, Spartan, Neptuno, W-Cube, Ghalib, QMR-KWT

References:

Space News: DARPA to begin launching Blackjack satellites in late 2020, 11 May 2020

Further Blackjack missions:

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