Mission History
Below is a listing of previous Astrotech Space Operations missions.
USSF-12 features two satellite payloads: the Wide Field of View (WFOV) Testbed for U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) Space Sensing Directorate and the USSF-12 Ring spacecraft for the Defense Department’s Space Test Program.
NOAA’s GOES-T is the third satellite in the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) – R Series, the Western Hemisphere’s most sophisticated weather-observing and environmental-monitoring system. The GOES-R Series provides advanced imagery and atmospheric measurements, real-time mapping of lightning activity, and monitoring of space weather.
The NROL-87 mission carried a national security payload designed, built, and operated by the National Reconnaissance Office.
The U.S. Space Force (USSF) - 8 mission includes two identical Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) satellites—GSSAP-5 and GSSAP-6 for the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command. The satellites provide neighborhood watch services in the Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) improving flight safety for all spacefaring nations operating in that orbit. This was the first and only planned flight of the Atlas V 511 configuration in the Atlas family.
The Space Test Program (STP)-3 mission consists of the STPSat-6 satellite that hosts the National Nuclear Security Administration's Space and Atmospheric Burst Reporting System-3 (SABRS-3) package and NASA's Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) experiment. The launch also includes a propulsive secondary payload adapter carrying additional small science and technology missions.
The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission is a planetary defense-driven test of technologies for preventing an impact of Earth by a hazardous asteroid. DART will be the first demonstration of the kinetic impactor technique to change the motion of an asteroid in space.
Lucy is the first space mission launched to study the Trojan asteroids. Trojans are small bodies that are remnants of our early solar system. They orbit the Sun in two loose groups: one group leading ahead of Jupiter in its orbit, the other trailing behind. During its 12-year primary mission, NASA's Lucy spacecraft will explore a record-breaking number of asteroids, flying by one main belt asteroid, and seven Trojans.
GPS III SV05 is fifth in a series of 10 upgraded GPS III satellites for the military that will join the current constellation of satellites already in orbit. They will help provide positioning, navigation and timing services for more than four billion users worldwide. SV05 will replace an aging predecessor that was launched two decades ago.
NROL-82 will strengthen NRO’s ability to provide a wide-range of timely intelligence information to national decision-makers, warfighters, and intelligence analysts to protect the nation’s vital interests and support humanitarian efforts worldwide.
GPS III SV04 is the fourth in a series of 10 upgraded GPS III satellites for the military that will join the current constellation of satellites already in orbit. They will help provide positioning, navigation and timing services for more than four billion users worldwide. GPS III-SV04 will replace an aging predecessor that was launched 20 years ago.
SkySat-19, 20, 21 are the final three spacecraft that will complete the SkySat imaging constellation, bringing the fleet total to twenty-one. The constellation will be able to image anywhere in the world seven times per day (up to twelve times per day in some locations).
GPS III SV03 is the third United States Space Force (USSF) mission launch and the second National Security Space Launch (NSSL) mission to be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. SV03 will add another military code (M-Code) capable satellite to the constellation as the USSF team continues to modernize the GPS fleet. M-Code will provide more accurate military signals with improved anti-jamming capabilities for the warfighter.
SkySat-16, 17, 18 are Earth-imaging spacecraft for Planet. They were successfully launched with fifty-eight SpaceX Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket, utilizing the company’s small satellite rideshare service. The final SkySat spacecraft are scheduled to launch on another Starlink rideshare mission in 2020.
The first mission for the United States Space Force, AEHF-6 will complete a constellation of satellites at the core of the US military communications. AEHF satellites provide secure, survivable and jam-resistant protected communications to U.S. warfighters, military units and facilities around the globe.
Solar Orbiter is a joint collaboration between NASA and the European Space Agency. This is the first mission that will provide images of the sun's north and south poles using a suite of six instruments on board that will capture the spacecraft's view. Having a visual understanding of the sun's poles is important because it can provide more insight about the sun's powerful magnetic field and how it affects Earth.
The Lockheed Martin-built satellite, GPS III SV02 known as “Magellan” (in honor of Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese navigator who led the first expedition to circumnavigate the globe), was carried to orbit aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV (4,2) launch vehicle, the final flight for the Delta IV medium launch vehicle. Magellan will join the current GPS constellation comprised of 31 operational spacecraft. Each satellite circles the Earth twice per day, providing the “Gold Standard” of position, navigation and timing services for billions of users worldwide.
The AEHF-5 satellite joins four previous satellites in the AEHF constellation launched by Atlas 5 rockets in 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2018. The first four AEHF satellites in orbit allowed the Air Force’s new generation of secure, nuclear-hardened voice, video and data relay spacecraft to span the globe. The addition of a fifth AEHF geostationary relay satellite will grow the network’s capacity and resiliency.
The WGS-10 satellite, built by the Boeing Space Systems, is an important element of the new high-capacity satellite communications system. Each WGS satellite provides more wideband communications capacity than the entire Defense Satellite Communications System.
A Delta IV-Heavy rocket delivered to orbit a satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office.
The United States’ Global Positioning System (GPS) delivers positioning, navigation, and timing services supporting vital U.S. and allied operations worldwide, and underpins critical financial, transportation, and agricultural infrastructure that billions of users have come to depend on daily. The United States Air Force’s first GPS III satellite will augment the current constellation of 31 operational GPS satellites.
This newest generation of GPS satellites is designed and built to deliver positioning, navigation, and timing information with three times better accuracy, and up to eight times improved anti-jamming capability. GPS is used by over four billion users and supports critical missions worldwide.
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