Small Satellite Program (United States Naval Academy)
Encyclopedia
The United States Naval Academy
(USNA) Small Satellite Program (SSP) was founded in 1999 to actively pursue flight opportunities for miniature satellites designed, constructed, tested, and commanded or controlled by Midshipmen. The Naval Academy's aerospace laboratory facilities are some of the most advanced and extensive in the country. These facilities include structures labs, propulsion and rotor labs, simulation labs, wind tunnels with flow velocities ranging from subsonic to supersonic, computer labs, and the Satellite Ground Station. The SSP provides funds for component purchase and construction, travel in support of testing and integration, coordination with DoD or National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) laboratories or with universities for collaborative projects, and guides Midshipmen through the Department of Defense (DoD) Space Experiments Review Board (SERB) flight selection process.
The satellite development process is a multi-semester effort requiring the contributions of Midshipmen from several consecutive graduating classes. First Class Midshipmen (seniors) in EA470 Spacecraft Design initiate the process in the spring semester of their First Class year with identification of the mission and determination of requirements followed by development of the conceptual design. Students in subsequent classes take the satellite through feasibility study, final design, construction, testing, and launch platform integration. Each Spring, First Class Midshipmen in the design class reinitiate the process with a new satellite concept so that new projects are germinating to take the place of those that are coming to completion and awaiting launch.
The scope of the projects supported by SSP is limited by the resources of the USNA Department of Aerospace Engineering. The astronautics cadre of the Department consists of five individuals: one full professor (now serving as Department Chair), one permanent military professor, two full-time visiting professors and one half-time visiting professor. These five are assisted by two staff members assigned to the USNA Satellite Ground Station (SGS): one senior engineer and one senior technician. The Midshipmen participating in SSP-sponsored projects are predominantly drawn from First Class (senior) majors in aerospace engineering who have chosen to concentrate on astronautics. This number fluctuates from year to year, current enrollment is 14 for the class of 2006. Financial resources are also thin. Projects are initiated with seed money from a $50K/year grant to the USNA Foundation from The Boeing Co., or from internal USNA funds. Additional funds are occasionally available for specific projects from collaborating federal agencies or sponsors.
Cognizant of these constraints, the SSP has consciously and deliberately entered the spaceflight arena in an incremental
manner. Sapphire (USNA-0) was obtained as a complete and tested spacecraft from an experienced university small satellite
producer. PCSat-1 (USNA-1) was designed and built in-house, but with a build-it-simple-and-rugged philosophy. Onboard
systems were limited: communications and electrical power only. Missions were sharply defined: the communications
system itself was the primary mission, and the secondary mission (an onboard Global Positioning System receiver)
needed only power and communications support that both meshed well with the PCSat design. Commercial off-the shelf
parts were chosen for ruggedness, simplicity and low cost rather than spaceflight heritage. Pre-flight testing was
limited to verification of functionality after vibration and thermal/vacuum environment testing.
USNA-2 and USNA-3 are repetitions of the proven PCSat communications system design. USNA-4 is a new satellite
design, larger and more complicated than PCSat, but still limited in scope and dedicated to experiments of moderate
interest. The project proposed here offers a unique opportunity for SSP to participate fully in cutting-edge science,
despite its limited financial and personnel resources.
The USNA MidSTAR Program
's first satellite, MidSTAR I
(USNA-5) was launched 8 March 2007. The planned MidSTAR II (USNA-8) was canceled. It would have followed the ParkinsonSat (USNA-7).
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
(USNA) Small Satellite Program (SSP) was founded in 1999 to actively pursue flight opportunities for miniature satellites designed, constructed, tested, and commanded or controlled by Midshipmen. The Naval Academy's aerospace laboratory facilities are some of the most advanced and extensive in the country. These facilities include structures labs, propulsion and rotor labs, simulation labs, wind tunnels with flow velocities ranging from subsonic to supersonic, computer labs, and the Satellite Ground Station. The SSP provides funds for component purchase and construction, travel in support of testing and integration, coordination with DoD or National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) laboratories or with universities for collaborative projects, and guides Midshipmen through the Department of Defense (DoD) Space Experiments Review Board (SERB) flight selection process.
The satellite development process is a multi-semester effort requiring the contributions of Midshipmen from several consecutive graduating classes. First Class Midshipmen (seniors) in EA470 Spacecraft Design initiate the process in the spring semester of their First Class year with identification of the mission and determination of requirements followed by development of the conceptual design. Students in subsequent classes take the satellite through feasibility study, final design, construction, testing, and launch platform integration. Each Spring, First Class Midshipmen in the design class reinitiate the process with a new satellite concept so that new projects are germinating to take the place of those that are coming to completion and awaiting launch.
The scope of the projects supported by SSP is limited by the resources of the USNA Department of Aerospace Engineering. The astronautics cadre of the Department consists of five individuals: one full professor (now serving as Department Chair), one permanent military professor, two full-time visiting professors and one half-time visiting professor. These five are assisted by two staff members assigned to the USNA Satellite Ground Station (SGS): one senior engineer and one senior technician. The Midshipmen participating in SSP-sponsored projects are predominantly drawn from First Class (senior) majors in aerospace engineering who have chosen to concentrate on astronautics. This number fluctuates from year to year, current enrollment is 14 for the class of 2006. Financial resources are also thin. Projects are initiated with seed money from a $50K/year grant to the USNA Foundation from The Boeing Co., or from internal USNA funds. Additional funds are occasionally available for specific projects from collaborating federal agencies or sponsors.
Cognizant of these constraints, the SSP has consciously and deliberately entered the spaceflight arena in an incremental
manner. Sapphire (USNA-0) was obtained as a complete and tested spacecraft from an experienced university small satellite
producer. PCSat-1 (USNA-1) was designed and built in-house, but with a build-it-simple-and-rugged philosophy. Onboard
systems were limited: communications and electrical power only. Missions were sharply defined: the communications
system itself was the primary mission, and the secondary mission (an onboard Global Positioning System receiver)
needed only power and communications support that both meshed well with the PCSat design. Commercial off-the shelf
parts were chosen for ruggedness, simplicity and low cost rather than spaceflight heritage. Pre-flight testing was
limited to verification of functionality after vibration and thermal/vacuum environment testing.
USNA-2 and USNA-3 are repetitions of the proven PCSat communications system design. USNA-4 is a new satellite
design, larger and more complicated than PCSat, but still limited in scope and dedicated to experiments of moderate
interest. The project proposed here offers a unique opportunity for SSP to participate fully in cutting-edge science,
despite its limited financial and personnel resources.
The USNA MidSTAR Program
USNA MidSTAR Program
-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....
's first satellite, MidSTAR I
MidSTAR 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...
(USNA-5) was launched 8 March 2007. The planned MidSTAR II (USNA-8) was canceled. It would have followed the ParkinsonSat (USNA-7).