Minotaur Launches TacSat-3 Satellite for U.S. Air Force

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UNITED STATES - 20 MAY 2009

DULLES, Va. --- Orbital Sciences Corporation announced today that its Minotaur I rocket successfully launched the Tactical Satellite-3 (TacSat-3) for the U.S. Air Force. The mission originated earlier today from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) launch facility at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, VA.

At approximately 7:55 p.m. (Eastern), the rocket’s first stage ignited, beginning its flight into low-Earth orbit. Approximately 12 minutes later, the Minotaur I deployed the TacSat-3 spacecraft in its targeted orbit of approximately 285 miles (460 kilometers) above the Earth’s surface.

Today’s mission was the 16th mission for the Minotaur program since its inception in 2000, all of which have been fully successful. It was also the third Minotaur I launch from the MARS facility, following the TacSat-2 and NFIRE missions conducted from the Eastern Virginia launch site in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Including the TacSat-3 mission, which carried four other smaller payloads, Minotaur I rockets have put a total of 30 satellites into orbit.

“We are very pleased with the results of this evening’s flight of the Minotaur I rocket, and are proud to be able to support the Air Force’s important work in the area of Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) systems,” said Mr. Ron Grabe, Orbital’s Executive Vice President and General Manager of its Launch Systems Group. “Following this successful launch, our Minotaur launch team’s focus will shift to the Minotaur IV vehicle, which will considerably extend the performance of the Minotaur family.”

Orbital will conduct the first two Minotaur IV flights later this year when it launches TacSat-4, the next in the Air Force’s series of smaller-sized tactical satellites, from Kodiak, AK, and the Space Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) satellite from Vandenberg U.S. Air Force Base, CA.

The TacSat-3 spacecraft is designed to meet the growing need of U.S. forces for flexible, affordable and responsive satellite systems. The program is a joint effort of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Space Vehicles Directorate, Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center’s (SMC) Space Development and Test Wing, the Department of Defense’s ORS office, and the Office of Naval Research.

The overall launch service and management for the Minotaur I vehicle was provided by the Air Force SMC’s Space Development and Test Wing at Kirtland Air Force Base, NM.

Orbital’s Minotaur product line was developed under the U.S. Air Force’s Orbital/Suborbital Program (OSP). The initial five-year OSP contract was competitively awarded to Orbital in 1997 and the company also won the follow-on 10-year OSP-2 contract in 2003. The Minotaur I space launch vehicle design used in today’s TacSat-3 launch is the original member of Orbital’s Minotaur family of launch vehicles, which includes both space launch vehicle designs and long-range suborbital vehicles for missile defense and other specialized launch missions.

The Minotaur vehicles are the only proven launch vehicles currently capable of supporting the Department of Defense’s evolving ORS launch requirements and are also specifically designed to be capable of launching from all U.S. spaceports, including government and commercial launch sites in Alaska, California, Florida and Virginia. Due to the minimal amount of specialized infrastructure that is required to support Minotaur launches, they can also be operated from other U.S. launch sites.

The Minotaur I space launch configuration combines Orbital’s commercial launch vehicle technologies, including upper stage rocket motors, structures, avionics and other elements, with government-supplied lower-stage rocket motor stages to create responsive, reliable and low-cost launch systems for U.S. Government-sponsored spacecraft. It can place up to 1,300 lbs. into low- Earth orbit.

The Minotaur family of launch vehicles utilizes standardized avionics and subsystems, mature processes and experienced personnel to make them reliable and cost effective.

In addition to the Minotaur I space booster, Orbital’s Minotaur product line also includes:

Minotaur II - A three-stage suborbital rocket used as a target vehicle for testing U.S. missile defense systems and related missions;

Minotaur III - A three-stage suborbital rocket, Minotaur III can deliver suborbital technology demonstration payloads of up to 6,500 lbs. or serve as a target vehicle for testing U.S. missile defense systems and similar missions;

Minotaur IV - A heavier-lift four-stage space launch vehicle using retired Peacekeeper rocket motors, capable of launching U.S. Government-sponsored satellites weighing up to 3,800 lbs. into low-altitude orbit. The first Minotaur IV missions are scheduled for later this year, carrying the TacSat-4 and SBSS satellites for the U.S. Air Force; and

Minotaur V - An enhanced-performance version of the Minotaur IV space launch vehicle that may be used to launch government satellites into higher-energy orbits for missions related to space exploration and other activities beyond low-Earth orbit.


Source: Orbital Sciences Corporation

US Air Force Research Laboratory's TacSat-3 satellite aboard an U.S. Air Force Minotaur I rocket launches from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility near Atlantic, Va on Tuesday, May 19, 2009. (AP)

 

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Tac Sat-3 completes groundbreaking experimental mission
UNITED STATES - 10 JUNE 2010

KIRTLAND U.S. AIR FORCE BASE, N.M -- Tactical Satellite-3 will transition from an experimental demonstration to an operational asset when spacecraft control authority officially transfers June 12 from the Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Vehicles Directorate here to Air Force Space Command at Peterson AFB, Colo.

Launched in May 2009, the 880-pound satellite achieved many milestones such as proving the capability of transmitting processed data to a ground station within 10 minutes of call up.

"It has been a historic mission from the initial rapid checkout to the successful validation of the primary payload ARTEMIS, the Advanced Responsive Tactically-Effective Military Imaging Spectrometer. The small satellite has been able to assist with the earthquake relief efforts in Haiti and Chile and now the team looks forward to its new role in the operational arena," said Dr. Thomas Cooley, TacSat-3 program manager.

"The team accomplished all of the key program objectives," he said, "and the satellite has provided high-quality, information-rich data, which we will continue to exploit for many months to fully quantify the applicability of the imaging spectrometer system to meet a wide range of applications. We also now have an excellent data set, which can be used to inform future satellite acquisitions of spectral systems."

Some of the highlights of TacSat-3's almost 13-month experimental flight included approximately 2,100 image collects performed by the ARTEMIS sensor, inaugural evaluation and employment in space of plug-and-play technology with the AFRL-led Space Avionics Experiment, downloading information obtained from ocean-based buoys to a ground station with the Office of Naval Research-sponsored Satellite Communications Package, and U.S. Army demonstration of tactical concept of operations with a space intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance system.

Originating almost six years ago as part of the Responsive Space Initiative addressing the military's requirements for rapid, flexible and cost-effective systems operating in the cosmos, TacSat-3 served as the premier small satellite project to use a formal payload selection process incorporating combatant commands' suggestions and a flag officer panel appraisal. The spacecraft also featured first generation modular bus technology designed to provide flexibility for successive small satellite missions.

"TacSat-3 has been a pathfinder to explore concepts of operation for future Operationally Responsive Space, or ORS, systems and has demonstrated the utility of hyperspectral information to benefit Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines around the world," said Dr. Peter Wegner, director of the Defense Department's ORS office. "This has been a great partnership between many government and industry organizations and demonstrates how great things can be achieved on a small budget and in a short time. I look forward to future partnerships like this one."

Program collaborators consisted of officials of the Army Space and Missile Defense Command, the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center's Space Development and Test Wing, AFRL's Sensors Directorate, Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems, ATK Spacecraft Systems and Services, NASA and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

"The project successfully demonstrated that a high-quality and low-cost imaging spectrometer sensor can be a reality, opening the door for future operational systems employing imaging spectrometer technology," Dr. Cooley said. "Having conducted multiple experiments with mission partners that proved the capability to use high-quality data to address a wide range of problems for the warfighter, we look forward to transitioning our lessons learned to all appropriate acquisition agencies."

 

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Space command officials embark on many firsts with tactical satellite
UNITED STATES - 28 JUNE 2010

PETERSON U.S. AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- The transition of Tactical Satellite 3 from experimental to operational mode June 18 marked the beginning of many significant firsts as U.S. Strategic Command accepted the hyperspectral satellite for operational use.

During its first year in orbit, flown by officials from the Air Force Research Laboratory in an experimental mode, the satellite collected thousands of hyperspectral images using its primary payload, the Advanced Responsive Tactically Effective Military Imaging Spectrometer.

The TacSat-3 demonstrated the ability to identify thousands of unique materials from space, said Lt. Col. Ryan Pendleton, the Operationally Responsive Space Integration chief at Air Force Space Command. Now, under the command of officials from USSTRATCOM, TacSat-3 has become the first free flying ISR satellite under direct control of a Department of Defense element other than the National Reconnaissance Office, National Security Agency, or other national-level organization.

"When compared to traditional imagery, hyperspectral data provides significantly more information about objects in the scene," said Colonel Pendleton. "For example, the hyperspectral information can help recognize types of metal, concrete, man-made versus natural materials, or even help identify materials known to be associated uniquely with military equipment. This means the warfighter will have a much better understanding of the design, capabilities and vulnerabilities of the objects imaged with the sensor."

Air Force officials recognized this great potential from the very initial planning stages of TacSat-3.

"While governmental agencies are often criticized for a lack of foresight and planning, regarding the transition of TacSat-3, we have an occasion where everything was done with a very proactive approach to long-term needs and a very purposeful approach to planning ahead," Colonel Pendleton said.

Potential advantages to the warfighter were identified early on in the process.

USSTRATCOM officials made its interest in using the satellite for operations known in November 2008, well before it launched. In response to a formal request from Gen. Kevin Chilton, the USSTRATCOM commander, a TacSat-3 transition team was created by Gen. Robert Kehler, the AFSPC commander, to evaluate what AFRL had created, consider the options for follow-on use in operations and implement that plan if it made sense. The AFSPC team then worked in concert with AFRL, USSTRATCOM, Army and National Agency representatives to achieve a smooth transition to operations.

Now that USSTRATCOM officials are operating the hyperspectral satellite, command officials created a more streamlined process for users to request targets to be imaged, Colonel Pendleton said. Part of this involves a dedicated rapid exploitation cell led by a joint Army and Air Force team to dramatically increase the speed with which exploited products are delivered to the warfighter.

During the experimental phase of the satellite, approximately 25 exploitation images per month were accomplished for "direct warfighter support," and those were often delivered weeks after the data was collected from ARTEMIS, Colonel Pendleton said. However, now that the satellite is in an operational mode, with a modified overall architecture, delivered products will exceed 300 per month with a turnaround time of a few days or less.

"The rapid exploitation cell is composed of approximately 20 people dedicated to quickly deriving the most essential information from within the hypercubes. Each hypercube is a data set collected from ARTEMIS on a specified area," he added. "This operational architecture will produce more than 300 hyperspectral images per month, and in a much more timely manner... as in hours to days after the collect, which is more than ten times the output during the experimental phase."

"This new capability will provide an unprecedented amount of spectral data to the warfighter on ISR targets worldwide and helps prove the capability and applicability of hyperspectral sensors and small tactical satellites in general," he said.

Lessons learned from this successful initiative are being applied to AFSPC's next big launch system, ORS-1, part of the operationally responsive space program, and Colonel Pendleton said he looks forward to the future possibilities in this arena.

"TacSat-3 has made headway for the ORS-1 system, proving the capability of small satellites, streamlining the acquisition process, and test-driving the tactical architecture for overhead ISR," he said. "The potential of systems to come is incredible."