SpaceDev has been awarded a small expansion to its existing contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), to examine satellite orbits that can be used to rapidly deploy and initialize microsatellites over precise geographical areas of interest.
“This contract expansion is a further validation of our innovative approach to microsatellite mission and spacecraft design,” said Jim Benson, SpaceDev’s founding chairman and chief executive officer.
“We are very pleased that our existing customers are providing us with additional opportunities to further develop SpaceDev concepts and technologies.”
Building upon results and methods developed from the previous study for DARPA of circular orbits, the expanded study will evaluate the orbital dynamics and associated mass budgets for deploying a constellation of satellites in elliptical orbits of interest.
SpaceDev’s existing contract with DARPA explored novel deployment schemes that leverage unique microsat dispenser concepts, new microsat propulsion, and possible microsat cluster space-tug concepts.
