These consisted of one small satellite, STPSat-3, and twenty eight CubeSats mounted in sixteen PPOD deployers. Twenty nine separable payloads flew aboard the Minotaur. It will be one of the first two Dragnet prototypes to fly, the other being installed aboard one of the satellites which the Minotaur is deploying. A second experiment is also attached to the Minotaur’s upper stage: SoM/DoM is a passive device intended to hasten the upper stage’s decay from orbit.ĭeveloped by MMA Design of Colorado, SoM/DoM is based on that company’s Dragnet design. Once the Minotaur reached orbit, AFSS will have completed its mission. It is hoped that an autonomous system would reduce the level of monitoring required from range safety assets on the ground. The primary experiment is the Autonomous Flight Safety System (AFSS) which will be used to monitor the trajectory of the rocket during its ascent to orbit to ensure the vehicle does not go off-course enabling the rocket to activate its own flight termination system should it become necessary. The primary goal of the ORS-3 mission is to test new procedures and equipment which would allow future missions to be flown at lower cost and with faster response times. The rocket lofted a record 29 satellites, as well as two attached payloads, from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island at 20:15 local time Tuesday (01:15 UTC on Wednesday). Orbital Sciences Corporation have launched the ORS-3 mission for the US military, using a Minotaur I rocket to demonstrate technology aimed at reducing costs for future missions.
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