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.

MidSTAR is a project of the United States Naval Academy

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

Small Satellite Program (United States Naval Academy)

The United States Naval Academy Small Satellite Program 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...

(SSP).

Mission architecture

The baseline MidSTAR mission includes a single spacecraft under the command and control of a single satellite ground (SGS) station located at USNA, Annapolis MD. (Lat. 38.98 N, 76.49 W). The ground station forwards downlinked data files to the Principal Investigators via the Internet. Secondary ground control will be available on an as-needed/space-available basis through Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), Monterey CA (36.6 N, 121.89 W). Launch segment for MidSTAR is either the Delta IV or Atlas V EELV. The orbit is tailored to payload requirements; where no requirements exist, the orbit of the primary payload or one of the other secondary payloads is accepted. In order for the spacecraft to be seen from USNA SGS at an elevation greater than 30 degrees and range simultaneously less than 900 km, the orbit must be 500 ± 200 km with inclination greater than 35 degrees.