The fundamental objectives of the capstone design project in the Department of Astronautics at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) are for cadets to learn important engineering lessons by executing a real space mission on a Department of Defense-funded satellite project. FalconSAT-3 is a 50 kg, gravity gradient-stabilized designed and built by cadets and launched March 2007 on the first ESPA (Enhanced extended launch vehicle Satellite Payload Adapter) mission. FalconSAT-3 was one of six satellites integrated onto the launch vehicle and the nature of the mission made it that the satellite was subject to the full formality of testing requirements. Two successive gravity gradient booms failed either design requirements or environmental testing; design requirements grew dramatically during the design phase; ambiguous thermal vacuum test results led to uncertainty at launch; and after launch it was not possible to contact the satellite for several weeks.
Test and On-Orbit Experiences of FalconSAT-3
2008
10 pages
Report
Keine Angabe
Englisch
Personnel Management, Labor Relations & Manpower , Personnel , Job Training & Career Development , Unmanned Spacecraft , United states air force academy , Scientific satellites , Students , Instrumentation , Aeronautical engineering , Lessons learned , Systems engineering , Payload , Training , Falconsat-3 , Design requirements , Academic small satellite programs
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