OPAL

USA

Orbiting Picosat Automatic Launcher
Also called OO-38, OPAL OSCAR-38

Launch data:

Designation	26063 / 00004C
Launch date	27 Jan 2000 - 03:03 UT
Launch site	Va, SLC-8
Launch vehicle	Minotaur (#1)
Mission	Technology
Earth orbit on Jan 27.24, 2000:
Perigee / Apogee	749 x 803 km
Eccentricity	0.004
Inclination	100.22 deg
Period	100.38 min

Specifications

Manufacturer	Stanford (SSTL)
Platform	OPAL
Mass at launch	50 kg
Mass in orbit
Dimension	hexagonal prism 23.5 cm height, 21 cm outside radius
Solar array
Stabilization	none
DC power
Design lifetime

Uplink: in 420-450 MHz band
Downlink: 437.100 MHz (1.7 W)
data rate 9600 baud

Description:

Stanford University's second Satellite QUIck Research Testbed (SQUIRT) satellite. The SQUIRT program, offered by the Satellite Systems Development Laboratory (SSDL) in the Stanford University Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, is designed to expose graduate level students to all aspects of the design and construction of a satellite. Each SQUIRT micro-satellite is meant to be constructed in one year on a budget of just $50,000. The design for OPAL was started in early April of 1995.

OPAL's (Orbiting Picosat Automatic Launcher) primary mission is to test the feasibility of launching 6 picosatellites from a mothership satellite (Stensat, MENS, Artemis). The 0.5 kg Stensat, built by an AMSAT-NA group, carries an amateur radio transponder. The DARPA/Aerospace Corp. MEMS (Micro Electro-mechanical Systems) picosatellites (2 of them), carry an intersatellite communications experiment and are connected by a 30-m tether. Santa Clara University's Artemis payload consists of 3 picosatellites (Jak (200 g), Thelma (500 g) and Louise (500 g)) that carry a VLF wave experiment.

OPAL uses a mechanical launching system to eject three hockey-puck sized picosats.

The satellite's secondary payloads consist of a suite of miniature accelerometers and a flux gate magnetometer that will be validated in space. Four experimental payloads are supplied by various US organisations including RF Beacon, GPS Ionospheric Sounding Payload, Polymer Battery, and Ultra Quiet Stabilisation Platform

Sub satellites:

MEMS 1/2(26080 / 00004H), also called: Picosat 21-23:
The MEMS satellites are smaller than a deck of cards (10 x 7.5 x 2.5 cm). They are linked by a tether. The satellites can communicate with each other and with the ground station by radio (with omni-directional antennas). Two transmissions were successful.
Ejected from OPAL on Feb 7 at 03:34 UT. Mission: Technique

JAK (26093 / 00004L): Artemis Picosat
Thelma (26091 / 00004J): Artemis Picosat (Thunder)
Louise (26092 / 00004K): Artemis Picosat (Lightnin)
The JAK and STENSAT picosats were ejected from OPAL on Feb 11 at 05:10 UT.
Thelma and Louise were ejected on Feb 12 et 13:43 UT. Unfortunately no data was received from the picosats.

Stensat (26094 / 00004M):
Downlink: 436.625 MHz, Uplink: 145.84 MHz, "J" FM voice repeater

Ref: #7(JR420-421), #15, #206 - update: 10.07.11