Encyclopedia entry

AeroAstro

Spacecraft · USA

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

American manufacturer of spacecraft. AeroAstro Inc., Herndon, Virginia, USA

Formed in 1988 with objective of building low-cost space systems.

Chronology

3 events

05:09 GMT - . Launch Site: Point Arguello. Launch Complex: Point Arguello WADZ. Launch Pad: Aircraft from Vandenberg.. Launch Platform: L-1011. LV Family: Pegasus. Launch Vehicle: Pegasus XL/HAPS.

TERRIERS - . Nation: USA. Agency: NASA Greenbelt. Manufacturer: AeroAstro. Class: Technology. Type: Military technology satellite. Spacecraft Bus: HETE. Spacecraft: TERRIERS. USAF Sat Cat: 25735 . COSPAR: 1999-026A. Apogee: 493 km (306 mi). Perigee: 484 km (300 mi). Inclination: 97.10 deg. Period: 94.40 min.
TERRIERS was part of NASA's Student Explorer Demonstration Initiative (STEDI), which was a precursor program to the UNEX (University Explorer) series. STEDI was managed by USRA (the Universities Space Research Association) for NASA, while UNEX was to be more directly managed by NASA-GSFC. TERRIERS was to be operated by the space physics group at Boston University for ionosphere studies, and carried TESS, a set of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectrographs to get electron density and thermosphere emission profiles. The GISSMO instrument measured the solar EUV flux. The spacecraft was built by AeroAstro and based on HETE. TERRIERS was placed in the correct orbit, but it failed to orient its solar panel to the Sun and ran out of battery power by May 20. Controllers were optimistic that when its orbit processes to a better sun angle the satellite could be revived. Air dropped in Point Arguello WADZ. Additional Details: here....

03:10 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC41. Launch Pad: SLC41. LV Family: Atlas V. Launch Vehicle: Atlas V 401.

STPSat-1 - . Mass: 170 kg (370 lb). Nation: USA. Manufacturer: AeroAstro. Class: Technology. Type: Navigation technology satellite. Spacecraft: Astro-200. USAF Sat Cat: 30775 . COSPAR: 2007-006D. Apogee: 560 km (340 mi). Perigee: 558 km (346 mi). Inclination: 35.40 deg. Period: 95.80 min. STPSat carried experiments to study the Earth's atmosphere, ionosphere and radiation environment. It also released the two MEPSI picosatellites..

01:25 GMT - . Launch Site: Kodiak. LV Family: Peacekeeper. Launch Vehicle: Minotaur IV.

USA 217 - . Payload: STPSat-2 SIV. Mass: 135 kg (297 lb). Nation: USA. Manufacturer: AeroAstro. Class: Technology. Type: Technology satellite. Spacecraft: Astro-200. USAF Sat Cat: 37222 . COSPAR: 2010-062A. Technology experiments. Lead satellite of USAF Space Test Program mission S26..