International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 17-20, 1994 / Town & Country Hotel and Conference Center, San Diego, California / An increasing number of satellite users and manufacturers are looking to lightweight,
inexpensive satellites as substitutes to traditional large, expensive satellites with
multiple payloads. Neither the Department of Defense nor the commercial sector can
bear the financial or reputational consequences associated with massive program
failures. With the low cost and weight of these new satellites, users can achieve
mission success without great risk. One example of this new class of inexpensive
spacecraft is the RADCAL (RADar CALibration) satellite. Detachment 2, Space &
Missile Systems Center at Sunnyvale, CA operates the satellite. RADCAL is a
200-pound polar orbiting satellite with an average altitude of 450 miles. It is primarily
used by 77 worldwide radars to calibrate their systems to within five meter accuracy.
Also flying on board RADCAL is a communication payload for remote field users
with small radios. The RADCAL program has satisfied all mission requirements.
However, with the limited size and cost come certain challenges, both in the satellite
and on the ground. Pre-launch testing was not as comprehensive as with more
expensive programs; anomalies have arisen that require extensive workarounds. Data
management is not a straightforward task, and it is sometimes difficult and inexact to
track satellite performance. These challenges are presented with their solutions in the
following discussion; this paper addresses the functional, operational, and testing
aspects associated with the RADCAL satellite.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/608842 |
| Date | 10 1900 |
| Creators | Morimoto, Todd A., Nowitzky, Thomas E., Grippando, Steven A. |
| Contributors | Space & Missile Systems Center, Loral Space & Range Systems |
| Publisher | International Foundation for Telemetering |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, Proceedings |
| Rights | Copyright © International Foundation for Telemetering |
| Relation | http://www.telemetry.org/ |
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