PSSC-2

Spacecraft n°:

US spacecraft n°:

Launch data: Designation  37752 / 11031B Launch date - time  08 Jul 2011 - 15:29 UT launched from Schuttle: 20 Jul 2011 - 07:49 UT Launch site  KSC, LC39A Launch vehicle  Shuttle STS-135, LEO Mission  Technology demonstration Low Earth orbit: Perigee / Apogee   km Eccentricity   Inclination   deg Period   min

Description:

• PSSC-2, or Picosatellite Solar Cell Testbed 2, is a miniaturised satellite which will be operated by the United States Air Force as part of a technology demonstration programme. It was the last satellite to be deployed from a Space Shuttle.
• PSSC-2 is the second PSSC satellite, following PSSC-1 which was deployed from Space Shuttle Endeavour during STS-126 in 2008. It carries two technology demonstration experiments: Miniature Tracking Vehicle (MTV), and the Compact Total Electron Content Sensor (CTECS). MTV will test the satellite's ability to function as a reference body for tracking stations, whilst CTECS will observe the signals from occulting Global Positioning System satellites in order to study the density of the ionosphere. The satellite also carries cameras intended to capture the last images of a Space Shuttle in orbit, shortly after separation.
• PSSC-2 is a 3.7-kilogram (8.2 lb) spacecraft which was built by the Aerospace Corporation, and is equipped with three-axis stabilisation, adaptive communications systems, and systems to monitor the energy produced by its solar cells. Four ammonium perchlorate solid rocket motors, each capable of generating 40 newtons (9.0 lbf) of thrust, will be used for manoeuvring one month after launch; either to raise the satellite's orbit or to deorbit it.
• PSSC-2 carries small rocket motors (total propellant around 0.08 kg, four ammonium perchlorate motors with 40 Ns impulse each), and a few weeks after deployment they will be fired to raise PSSC-2's orbit to counteract decay and test ground tracking capabilities. PSSC-2 will also demonstrate its advanced solar panel technology. PSSC-1, which did not have its own propulsion, was deployed on STS-126 and remained in orbit for 80 days.

Mission details:

• PSSC-2 was launched aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis on its final mission, STS-135. The launch took place from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, at 15:29 UTC on 8 July 2011.[2] PSSC-2, along with a deployment mechanism, was carried to orbit in the payload bay of the Shuttle, attached to the right wall behind the Orbiter Docking System. It remained attached during Atlantis' visit to the International Space Station, and was originally scheduled to be deployed at 07:11 UTC on 19 July, the day after undocking. With the extension of the STS-135 mission, undocking, and hence deployment, was delayed by one day.
• Atlantis undocked from ISS on Jul 19, 2011 at 0628 UTC and on Jul 20 it deployed the small 4 kg Picosat Solar Cell Testbed satellite.
• The Aerospace Corporation's PSSC Testbed 2 picosatellite, ejected from mission STS-135, re-entered on Dec 8, 2011. The 4 kg satellite carried four tiny model-rocket motors to raise its orbit. One of those was fired on Nov 4 at around 1530 UTC and raised the orbit slightly from 90.9 min, 317 x 319 km to 91.0 min, 316 x 329 km, delaying decay by about 4 days.
  Based on the otherwise steady orbital decay rate, it appears that the remaining motors were not fired.