Cibola flight experiment satellite

Details Cibola flight experiment satellite Cibola flight experiment satellite

Nov 2004

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2004esasp.571e..36d&link_type=abstract

Proceedings of The 4S Symposium: Small Satellites, Systems and Services (ESA SP-571). 20 - 24 September 2004, La Rochelle, Franc

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In order to achieve an "economy of scale" with respect to payload capacity the major trend in telecommunications satellites is for larger and larger platforms. With these large platforms the level of integration between platform and payload is increasing leading to longer delivery schedules. The typical lifecycle for procurement of these large telecommunications satellites is now 3-6 years depending on the level of non-recurring engineering needed. Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) has designed a low-cost platform aimed at telecommunications and navigation applications. SSTL's Geostationary Minisatellite Platform (GMP) is a new entrant addressing the lower end of the market with payloads up to 250kg requiring less than 1.5 kW power. The British National Space Centre through the MOSAIC Small Satellite Initiative supported the development of GMP. The main design goals for GMP are low-cost for the complete mission including launch and operations and a platform allowing flexible payload accommodation. GMP is specifically designed to allow rapid development and deployment with schedules typically between 1 and 2 years from contract signature to flight readiness. GMP achieves these aims by a modular design where the level of integration between the platform and payload is low. The modular design decomposes the satellite into three major components - the propulsion bay, the avionics bay and the payload module. Both the propulsion and avionics bays are reusable, largely unchanged, and independent of the payload configuration. Such a design means that SSTL or a 3rd party manufacturer can manufacture the payload in parallel to the platform with integration taking place quite late in the schedule. In July 2003 SSTL signed a contract for ESA's first Galileo navigation satellite known as GSTBV2/A. The satellite is based on GMP and ESA plan to launch it into a MEO orbit late in 2005. The second flight of GMP is likely to be in 2006 carrying a geostationary payload consisting of six Ku band transparent transponders. Once the platform is flight proven, SSTL will be able to offer it to commercial and institutional operators when there is an urgent need for capacity for example to introduce new services, for gap fillers, for frequency filing missions and for technology demonstration missions. The paper describes in detail: - the need for such a rapid-response system targeted at telecommunications and navigation missions, - SSTL's approach to the design, integration and test activities, - typical payload configurations that GMP could accommodate, - the low-cost launch opportunities and operational concept.

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