USNA MidSTAR Program
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[edit] MidSTAR Program Mission
MidSTAR is a general-purpose satellite bus capable of supporting a variety of space missions by easily accommodating a wide range of space experiments and instruments. The integration of the experiments with the satellite bus must be accomplished with minimal changes to the satellite bus design. MidSTAR is intended to be a relatively low-cost, quick response platform accommodating small payloads approved by the DoD Space Experiments Review Board (SERB) and awaiting launch through the STP.
MidSTAR satellites are designed for use on the Expendable Secondary Payload Adaptor (ESPA) Ring developed by Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) for placement on Delta IV or Atlas V expendable launch vehicles. MidSTAR spacecraft are Class D, produced at minimum cost with a correspondingly higher technical risk in production and operation. The spacecraft is intentionally simple in design and rugged in construction, using commercial off-the-shelf “plug-and-play” components to the greatest extent possible. Component development and circuit-board level design are accomplished only when necessary.
MidSTAR is a project of the United States Naval Academy (USNA) Small Satellite Program (SSP).
[edit] Mission Architecture
The baseline MidSTAR mission includes a single spacecraft under the command and control of a single satellite ground (SGS) station located at USNA, Annapolis MD. (Lat. 38.98 N, 76.49 W). The ground station forwards downlinked data files to the Principal Investigators via the Internet. Secondary ground control will be available on an as-needed/space-available basis through Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), Monterey CA (36.6 N, 121.89 W). Launch segment for MidSTAR is either the Delta IV or Atlas V EELV. The orbit is tailored to payload requirements; where no requirements exist, the orbit of the primary payload or one of the other secondary payloads is accepted. In order for the spacecraft to be seen from USNA SGS at an elevation greater than 30 degrees and range simultaneously less than 900 km, the orbit must be 500 +/- 200 km with inclination greater than 35 degrees.
