EAGLE (USA 284)

US

Int. spacecraft nº:

US spacecraft nº:

EAGLE= ESPA Augmented Geostationary Laboratory Experiment.
ESPA= EELV Secondary Payload Adapter; EELV= Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle.

Launch data:

Designation	43340 / 18036B
Launch date	14 Apr 2018 - 23:13 UT
Launch site	CC, SLC-41
Launch vehicle	Atlas-5/551
Mission	Tracking
Geostationary orbit:
Perigee / Apogee	36025 x 36059 km
Eccentricity
Inclination	0.5°
Period	1448.8 min

Launched together with: CBAS - Mycroft - USA 286 - USA 287

Spacecraft data:

Prime manufacturer	Orbital ATK
Platform
Operator	Air Force Research Lab
Mass at launch	kg
Dry Mass	kg
Basic shape
Dimension (m)
Equipment
Solar array
Stabilization
Propulsion
DC power
Design lifetime

Mission details:

On Apr 14, 2018 ULA launched Atlas AV-079 with a US military payload. The Centaur stage made three burns to deliver the CBAS and EAGLE satellites to orbit.

EAGLE is a satellite built from the ESPA mutiple satellite adapter first flown in 2007. ESPA is a ring that sits between CBAS and the Centaur, with attachment points for small satellites and experiments spaced around it. (The LCROSS Shepherding Spacecraft in 2009 was similarly built from an ESPA ring attached to its Centaur). EAGLE stands for ESPA Augmented Geostationary Laboratory Experiment; ESPA stands for EELV Secondary Payload Adapter; and EELV stands for Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle. The EAGLE bus is known as ESPAStar and the satellite was built by Orbital ATK. EAGLE is operated by the Air Force Research Lab.

It appears the EAGLE ESPA-ring-based satellite launched on Apr 14 deployed two secret 100-kg-class box shaped payloads on about Apr 26 and a third possibly on May 11. These use the ESPASat bus, designed to fit in the ESPAStar azimuthal slots. One of these is Mycroft, an experiment which will carry out formation flying between 1 and 35 km from EAGLE to test space surveillance and proximity operations technology. The second and third payloads are a mystery at the moment.

On Apr 26(?), 2018 launched Mycroft and USA 286 satellites in high orbit.
On May 12(?), 2018 launched USA 287 satellite in high orbit.

External links:

Satellite tracking (n2ya.com): Real time satellite tracking

Ref.: #7(JR748,749), #228 - update: 22.07.18

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