XSS-11

Launch data: Designation  28636 / 05011A Launch date  11 Apr 2005 - 13:35 UT (06:35am PDT) Launch site  Va, SLC-8 Launch vehicle  Minotaur-1 Mission  Rendez-vous Technology Earth orbit on: Perigee / Apogee  757 x 775 km Inclination  99.17;° Period  100.16 min

Spacecraft data: Prime contractor  Lockheed Martin Operator  USAF, NASA Platform   Mass at launch  145 kg Dry Mass   kg Basic shape   Dimension   Solar array   Stabilization   DC power   Design lifetime

Decay:

Description:

XSS-11's objective is to demonstrate key elements of extended proximity operations using microsatellites. An agile, capable, affordable microsatellite will rendezvous with a resident space object and perform extended proximity operations including standoff inspection and circumnavigation. Key technologies are the proximity operation software/algorithms, miniature proximity sensors including a laser ranger, producible and capable microsatellite bus with a modular payload interface, and command and control techniques for proximity operations including safety and verification procedures.

One of the XSS-11 mission goals is to perform space flight demonstration of technologies needed for the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) proposed plans to use spacecraft to collect samples of rocks and soil from Mars and return them to Earth for analysis.

The Lockheed Martin team includes the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Octant Technologies, Inc., Broad Reach Engineering and Science Applications International Corporation. The AFRL team also includes the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center's Detachment 12 at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, which will support spacecraft launch and on-orbit experiment operations. This program will establish the feasibility of possible future Air Force space missions through the use of affordable microsatellites.

The XSS 11 program received some harsh criticism in the press, when a Pentagon official spoke about the possibility of using XSS-11 as a kinetic anti-satellite weapon (ASAT).

Mission details: