TacSat 2

Launch data: Designation  29653 / 06058A Launch date  16 Dec 2006 - 12:00 UT Launch site  WI, LA-0B Launch vehicle  Minotaur-1 Mission  Technology, Imaging Earth orbit: Perigee / Apogee   km Eccentricity   Inclination  ° Period   min

Spacecraft data: Prime contractor  Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL); MicroSat Systems (bus) Platform  Road Runner Bus Operator  Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Mass at launch  370 kg Dry Mass   kg Basic shape   Dimension (m)   Solar array   2 deployable fixed solar arrays Stabilization   DC power

The TacSat 2 craft undergoes pre-flight testing. Credit: Air Force

Decay:

Descriptions:

• TacSat-2 is a small satellite for developing low-cost, customized and rapidly deployable space capabilities for theater warfighters. Work on TacSat-2 is being done at the Air Force Research Laboratory with help from the Naval Research Laboratory. This TACSAT demo was scheduled for 2007 as the first proof of concept for joint warfighters space (JWS). Plans are to provide the Joint Force Commander with an operational capability by 2010.
• TacSat-2 features 11 onboard experiments, which will be conducted during the spacecraft’s planned six to 12-month mission. The U.S. Navy’s Target Indicator Experiment (TIE) consists of a wideband sensor to gather radar, radio, and handheld communication signals. The TIE will also check for the automated identification transmission now mandated for large ocean-going ships. TacSat-2 can directly talk to any common data link compatible ground station across the globe. Other features include the integrated global positioning system occultation receiver, which will compile high-precision location data for the micro satellite, recycled solar array panels producing 500 watts of power, and autonomous operations allowing TacSat-2 to think for itself.

Mission details:

• Liftoff of the 69-foot tall booster occurred at 7:00 a.m. EST (1200 GMT) from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on the southern tip of Wallops Island, Va.
• The four-stage booster flew toward the rising Sun as it headed southeast away from the U.S. East Coast. Deployment of the TacSat 2 primary payload came 11 minutes after launch, according to the NASA Wallops Flight Facility.
• NASA's tiny GeneSat 1 research craft was released into space ten minutes later, and controllers later confirmed they had received the first signals from the nanosatellite.