FalconSAT
Encyclopedia
FalconSAT is the name of the United States Air Force Academy
's small satellite
engineering program. Satellites are designed, built, tested, and operated by Academy cadets. The project is administered by the USAFA
Space Systems Research Center under the direction of the Department of Astronautics
. Most of the cadets who work on the project are pursuing a bachelor of science
degree
in astronautical engineering, although students from other disciplines (typically electrical engineering
, mechanical engineering
, or computer science
) join the project.
Compared to most commercial satellite projects, FalconSat is considerably lower budget, and follows a very accelerated development cycle. Because of the near total personnel turnover every year (the program is generally a senior cadet project, and graduating cadets must be replaced yearly) it forces the cadet engineers to very quickly learn and become familiar with the satellite systems to which they are assigned.
FalconSAT has a sister project, FalconLaunch
, to design and develop sounding rocket
class vehicles.
For up to date information regarding on-going operations for FalconSAT-3 and FalconSAT-5, please refer to the USAFA Astro Facebook Page.
United States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...
's small satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
engineering program. Satellites are designed, built, tested, and operated by Academy cadets. The project is administered by the USAFA
United States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...
Space Systems Research Center under the direction of the Department of Astronautics
Astronautics
Astronautics, and related astronautical engineering, is the theory and practice of navigation beyond the Earth's atmosphere. In other words, it is the science and technology of space flight....
. Most of the cadets who work on the project are pursuing a bachelor of science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
in astronautical engineering, although students from other disciplines (typically electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
, mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
, or computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
) join the project.
Compared to most commercial satellite projects, FalconSat is considerably lower budget, and follows a very accelerated development cycle. Because of the near total personnel turnover every year (the program is generally a senior cadet project, and graduating cadets must be replaced yearly) it forces the cadet engineers to very quickly learn and become familiar with the satellite systems to which they are assigned.
FalconSAT has a sister project, FalconLaunch
FalconLaunch
FalconLaunch is the name of a small sounding rocket development program at the United States Air Force Academy. The program falls beneath the purview of the Academy Department of Astronautics. The program has two basic purposes: first, to educate cadets in the practice of space systems engineering;...
, to design and develop sounding rocket
Sounding rocket
A sounding rocket, sometimes called a research rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The origin of the term comes from nautical vocabulary, where to sound is to throw a weighted line from a ship into...
class vehicles.
Satellites
- FalconGOLD - launched in 1997 on an Atlas rocket. Tested and proved the feasibility of using GPS to determine orbit position when outside the extent of the GPS constellation. Various web pages document FalconGOLD telemetry, a USAF Academy award, and an AIAA award. The design and launch team is documented on the AIAA award plaque. GPSWorld.com's October 1999 article declared "The results of this low-cost, off-the-shelf experiment were quite encouraging for the use of GPS at high altitudes." This work accelerated enthusiasm for GPS side lobe exploitation.
- FalconSAT-1 - launched in January 2000 on a converted Minuteman II missile. It carried the CHAWS (Charging Hazards and Wake Studies) experiment developed by the Physics Department at the Academy. The satellite was successfully placed into orbit but was lost about a month later due to it an electrical power system failure. http://www.usafa.af.mil/superintendent/pa/factsheets/spaceage.htm No useful science data was returned, despite repeated recovery attempts. The mission was declared a loss after about a month in orbit. A USAF press statement of June 2002 said: "While FalconSat-1 was a technical failure, it was a resounding academic success."
- FalconSAT-2FalconSAT-2FalconSAT-2 was a satellite built by students of the United States Air Force Academy as part of the FalconSAT programme. It was intended to have been placed into low Earth orbit to study the effects of plasma on communications with spacecraft, however it failed to reach orbit due to a malfunction...
- Significantly damaged when Falcon 1Falcon 1The Falcon 1 is a partially reusable launch system designed and manufactured by SpaceX, a space transportation company in Hawthorne, California. The two-stage-to-orbit rocket uses LOX/RP-1 for both stages, the first powered by a single Merlin engine and the second powered by a single Kestrel engine...
launch vehicle failed seconds after launch. Despite the loss of the launch vehicle, the satellite landed, mostly intact in a support building for the launch vehicle. It was originally scheduled for launch on STS-114 with the Space ShuttleSpace ShuttleThe Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
AtlantisSpace Shuttle AtlantisThe Space Shuttle Atlantis is a retired Space Shuttle orbiter in the Space Shuttle fleet belonging to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration , the spaceflight and space exploration agency of the United States...
in January 2003. Its payload was the MESA instrument (Miniaturized electrostatic Analyzer), which would have been used to sample plasmaPlasma (physics)In physics and chemistry, plasma is a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionized. Heating a gas may ionize its molecules or atoms , thus turning it into a plasma, which contains charged particles: positive ions and negative electrons or ions...
in the upper atmosphere. The data would have been used to correlate the effect of ionospheric plasma on trans-ionospheric radio communications.
- FalconSAT-3 - contains 5 experiments, including a gravity gradient boom, launch adapter shock ring, and several AFRL sponsored payloads, including MPACS (Micro Propulsion Attitude Control System), FLAPS (Flat Plasma Spectrometer), and PLANE (Plasma Local Anomalous Noise Experiment). The launch, aboard an Atlas VAtlas VAtlas V is an active expendable launch system in the Atlas rocket family. Atlas V was formerly operated by Lockheed Martin, and is now operated by the Lockheed Martin-Boeing joint venture United Launch Alliance...
401 from SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force StationCape Canaveral Air Force StationCape Canaveral Air Force Station is an installation of the United States Air Force Space Command's 45th Space Wing, headquartered at nearby Patrick Air Force Base. Located on Cape Canaveral in the state of Florida, CCAFS is the primary launch head of America's Eastern Range with four launch pads...
, was scheduled to occur on December 8, 2006, however as this was on the same day as the scheduled launch of STS-116STS-116-Crew notes:Originally this mission was to carry the Expedition 8 crew to the ISS. The original crew was to be:-Mission highlights:* The STS-116 mission delivered and attached the International Space Station's third port truss segment, the P5 truss....
, and a 48-hour turnaround was required, it was delayed. Launch took place on 8 March 2007 alongside MidSTAR-1MidSTAR I (USNA)MidSTAR-1 is an artificial satellite produced by the United States Naval Academy . It was sponsored by the United States Department of Defense Space Test Program , and was launched on March 8, 2007 at 11:32 Eastern Standard Time, aboard an Atlas V expendable launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral...
. While the FalconSAT-3 software architecture at launch limited access to all ADCS sensors, all scientific mission objectives were achieved. Bus software updates are ongoing, enabling enhanced visibility into satellite bus operations and payload performance. In addition to serving providing both a ground and space based training platform, FalconSAT-3 is now being used as a trainer for cadets at West Point , student officers at the Air Force Institute of Technology, and a ground station is in work at Vandenberg AFB, CA to support the Air Force's Space 100 course.
- FalconSAT-5 - was launched on November 19 2010 onboard a Minotaur IVMinotaur IVMinotaur IV, also known as Peacekeeper SLV and OSP-2 PK is an active expendable launch system derived from the Peacekeeper missile. It is operated by Orbital Sciences Corporation, and made its maiden flight on 22 April 2010, carrying the HTV-2a Hypersonic Test Vehicle...
. Though the $12,000,000 mission is listed on a NASA website here, data are not being made available to the public through that portal. Instead, all satellite information and data are maintained internally at USAFA, with no public information being released regarding the status of this mission.
For up to date information regarding on-going operations for FalconSAT-3 and FalconSAT-5, please refer to the USAFA Astro Facebook Page.