Encyclopedia entry

Road Runner

Spacecraft

Original archive entry. The text, images and links below are kept as they were written.

American satellite bus designed for tactical electro-optic imaging from LEO.

Subtopics

Tacsat ORS American military surveillance satellite. The Tactical Satellite / Operationally Responsive Satellite program's objective was to demonstrate techniques to dramatically shorten the development time for small satellites. Technology, imaging satellite built by Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL); MicroSat Systems (bus) for Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), USA. Launched 2006. Used the Road Runner Bus (NGMB, Next Generation Multifunctional Bus). Launched 2006.
DSX (Cygnus) Null
Team Encounter F1 / ST 6ISC Null
TechSat-21 1, 2, 3 Technology satellite built by MicroSat Systems for Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), STP (Space Test Program), NASA. Used the NGMB (Next Generation Multifunctional Bus) bus.

4 events

12:00 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. Launch Complex: Wallops Island LA0B. LV Family: Minuteman. Launch Vehicle: Minotaur 1.

Tacsat-2 - . Mass: 370 kg (810 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: USAF RL. Manufacturer: MicroSats. Program: Tacsat. Class: Surveillance. Type: Military surveillance satellite. Spacecraft Bus: Road Runner. Spacecraft: Tacsat ORS. Decay Date: 2011-02-05 . USAF Sat Cat: 29653 . COSPAR: 2006-058A. Apogee: 426 km (264 mi). Perigee: 410 km (250 mi). Inclination: 40.01 deg. Period: 92.93 min.
Tacsat-2 was a prototype rapid development/rapid deployment tactical military satellite that provided American Joint Task Force commanders direct control of a satellite providing both SIGINT and imagery with a resolution of better than 1-m. The known communications payload used an 8 GHz (X-band) downlink. This was the first orbital launch from Wallops Island since 1985. TacSat-2 was to have been launched by a Falcon-1 from Vandenberg into a sun-synchronous orbit. However, the failure of Falcon-1 on its long-delayed maiden in March 2006 caused AFRL to award a new launch contract for TacSat-2 and TacSat-3 to OSC in May 2006. The launch was achieved using OSC's Minotaur launch vehicle only seven months after contract award.

23:55 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. Launch Complex: Wallops Island LA0B. LV Family: Minuteman. Launch Vehicle: Minotaur 1.

Tacsat 3 - . Mass: 400 kg (880 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Program: Tacsat. Class: Technology. Type: Surveillance jtechnology satellite. Spacecraft Bus: Road Runner. Spacecraft: Tacsat ORS. Decay Date: 2012-04-30 . USAF Sat Cat: 35001 . COSPAR: 2009-028A. Apogee: 465 km (288 mi). Perigee: 433 km (269 mi). Inclination: 40.50 deg. Period: 93.60 min. USAF experimental imaging satellite..

03:09 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. Launch Complex: Wallops Island LA0B. LV Family: Minuteman. Launch Vehicle: Minotaur 1.

USA 231 - . Payload: ORS-1. Mass: 450 kg (990 lb). Nation: USA. Class: Surveillance. Type: Military surveillance satellite. Spacecraft Bus: Road Runner. Spacecraft: Tacsat ORS. Decay Date: 2018-03-12 . USAF Sat Cat: 37728 . COSPAR: 2011-029A. Apogee: 409 km (254 mi). Perigee: 396 km (246 mi). Inclination: 40.00 deg. Period: 92.60 min.
Prototype optical surveillance satellite developed under the USAF Operationally Responsive Space program. Derived from Tacsat 3. Objective is to deploy small satellites to support military operations on short notice, either to provide a surge capability or to replace malfunctioning or disabled primary assets.

15:49 GMT - . Launch Site: Kodiak. LV Family: Peacekeeper. Launch Vehicle: Minotaur IV-Plus.

Tacsat 4 - . Mass: 460 kg (1,010 lb). Nation: USA. Program: Tacsat. Class: Communications. Type: Military communications satellite. Spacecraft Bus: Road Runner. Spacecraft: Tacsat ORS. USAF Sat Cat: 37818 . COSPAR: 2011-052A. Apogee: 12,010 km (7,460 mi). Perigee: 742 km (461 mi). Inclination: 63.60 deg. Period: 238.90 min.
Naval Research Laboratory UHF communications satellite, equipped with a 3.7-meter-diameter communications antenna to support military handheld satellite telephones. Launch used an uprated Minotaur IV with an ATK Star 48V motor replacing the Orion 38 upper stage.