Who is Ready for Transporter-11?
We’re excited to support five spacecraft and a hosted payload on SpaceX’s upcoming Transporter-11 Rideshare mission, which is targeted to lift off on a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California this summer. On this mission, we’re supporting the mission management and integration of five government and commercial payloads from three countries – the United States, Italy and Hungary.
In addition, we’re flying our patented ‘soft-ride’ deployment system, Ghost Trap, for the first time. READ MORE about how it reduces vibrations and decreases the stress load, creating a more protected and secure environment, without the need for additional adapters or isolators. We also share how it got its nefarious-sounding name – if you can’t guess.
It’s been a busy integration process, but we couldn’t be more excited to see these organizations get their spacecraft on orbit!
A Closer Look at the Payloads on Transporter-11:
NASA’s Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator – 4 (PTD-4) is part of the tech demonstrator series to test new subsystem technologies to increase small spacecraft capabilities. The spacecraft will demonstrate a very high-power, low-volume deployable solar array with an integrated antenna called the Lightweight Integrated Solar Array and anTenna, or LISA-T. PTD-4 is a partnership between NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate’s Small Spacecraft Technology (SST) program (which resides at NASA’s Ames Research Center), NASA’s Launch Services Program, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, and Terran Orbital Corporation.
NASA’s Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator-R (PTD-R) will demonstrate simultaneous ultraviolet and short-wave infrared optical sensing from space for the first time via two 85-mm aperture monolithic telescopes mounted side-by-side, using a new compact custom electronics module and a novel, lightweight, carbon-composite optical housing and radiator. The PTD-R mission also is part of the PTD series of technology demonstration missions funded and managed by NASA’s SST program and in partnership with NASA’s Launch Services Program, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Terran Orbital Corporation.
Train Rapid On-Orbit Payload (TROOP-F2): NearSpace Launch’s TROOP-F2 is a hosted payload program that offers four payloads access to space every six months. It’s designed to provide affordable and rapid turns on research iterations, a consistent opportunity to increase technology readiness level numbers, and a variety of testing pathways. On this mission, TROOP-F2 will beta testing several new cutting-edge technologies.
Matthew Voss, Chief Operation Officer at NearSpace Launch, added, “SEOPS has been a fantastic partner with NearSpace in achieving its goal of launching systems every six months. They are reliable, accommodating, and in every sense a true mission partner.”
In addition, TROOP-F2 carries a hosted payload for Celestis, a memorial and space burial services provider, whose Harmony Flight includes a symbolic portion of the cremated remains or DNA of 62 flight participants as it orbits the Earth – eventually reentering the Earth’s atmosphere as a shooting star, burning up entirely.
Iperdrone: Funded by the Italian Space Agency and developed by an entirely Italian consortium composed by Centro Italiano Ricerche Aerospaziali (Prime Contractor), Tyvak International (spacecraft developer and integrator) and Kayser Italia (Ground and Safety), the Iperdrone spacecraft will demonstrate proximity operations for space assets, visual inspection, and a controlled re-entry in a pre-defined corridor. This will be done through critical technologies developed in the frame of the project such as navigation cameras and cold gas propulsion systems.
Water Resources in Efficient Networks (WREN-1): From Hungarian space company CS3 LLC, the WREN-1 mission is a real-time decision support system for climate adaptation, drought prevention, and yield forecasting. The satellite features a high-performance camera system that captures multiple pictures of the planet, whereas the ground system incorporates a network of sensors. Both the images taken by WREN-1 and the local data provided by the sensors are fed to mathematical models based on geographical information and artificial intelligence to facilitate the purpose of the mission.
SEOPS was able to accommodate the WREN-1 spacecraft on its manifest, via a partnership with France’s RIDE!, when C3S was forced to change their original launch plans. Gyula Horváth, CEO at C3S LLC, commented, ” SEOPS’ expertise, flexibility, and prompt service have played a pivotal role in the success of our satellite launch initiatives. As we look forward to the next phase of our mission, we remain confident in SEOPS’s capabilities and look forward to continued collaboration!”
If you would like the power of partnering with SEOPS on your next mission, let us know!
Contact us at [email protected].
