Official name STPSAT-3
Alternative name STPSat-3
Cospar ID 2013-064A
Norad ID 39380
Launch date 2013-11-20
Launch site WLPIS
Launch vehicle Minotaur-1
Country/Organization USA
Type application Technology
Operator US Air Force (USAF) STP (Space Test Program)
RCS size LARGE
Decay date 2023-03-11
Shape Box + 2 Pan
Mass (kg) 135
Height (m) 1
Width (m) 0.6
Depth (m) 0.6
Span (m^2) 3
Lifetime 1 year
Contractors Ball Aerospace (prime); AeroAstro (bus)
Equipment 2 SPEX, ODTML (#2); iMESA-R, J-CORE, SSU, SWATS, TCTE, De-Orbit Module (#3)
Configuration Astro-200
Power 3 deployable solar arrays, batteries

STPSat 2 is an experimental spacecraft for STP (Space Test Program). It was the first flight of the Standard Interface Vehicle (STP-SIV).

STPSat-2 carried three experimental payloads that were chosen by the DoD Space Experiment Review Board:

  • SPEX (Space Phenomenology Experiment) consisting of two payloads to evaluate sensor compatibility for the space environment
  • ODTML (Ocean Data Telemetry MicroSatLink) provides two way data relay from terrestrial (ocean or land) sensors to users (standalone or on the internet).

STPSat 3 is a copy of the STPSat-2 satellite, which carried five experiments, including a module designed to host various space situational awareness sensors and a pair of space environment sensors.

  • iMESA-R (Integrated Miniaturized Electrostatic Analyzer Reflight), a U.S. Air Force Academy mission designed to measure plasma densities and energies
  • J-CORE (Joint Component Research), a space phenomenology mission sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) /EO Countermeasures Technology Branch (RYMW) & Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC)
  • SSU (Strip Sensor Unit), an AFRL Directed Energy (RD) experiment to provide risk reduction through on-orbit testing and operation of a sensor assembly
  • SWATS (Small Wind and Temperature Spectrometer), a Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) mission to provide in-situ measurements of the neutral and plasma environment to characterize the Earth?s ionosphere and thermosphere
  • TCTE (TSI Calibration Transfer Experiment), a NASA/NOAA mission to collect high accuracy, high precision measurements of Total Solar Irradiance to monitor changes in solar irradiance incident at the top the Earth?s atmosphere with TCTE instrument provided by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, originally built as a flight-spare instrument for SORCE.

In addition, the spacecraft has new capability, the MMA Design LLC De-Orbit Module used to de-orbit the satellite in less than 25 years.

Satellite COSPAR Date LS Launch Vehicle Remarks
STPSAT 2 (USA 217) 2010-062A 2010-11-20 KODAK Minotaur-4 HAPS with FASTRAC 1, FASTRAC 2, FalconSat 5, FASTSat-HSV 01, RAX 1, O/OREOS, NanoSail-D2, Ballast A, Ballast B
STPSAT-3 2013-064A 2013-11-20 WLPIS Minotaur-1 with ORS 3, ORSES, ORS Tech 1, ORS Tech 2, SENSE 1, SENSE 2, Ho`oponopono 2, Firefly, STARE B, Prometheus 1.1, ..., 1.8, Black Knight 1, NPS-SCAT, COPPER, ChargerSat 1, TJ3Sat, Trailblazer 1, Vermont Lunar Cubesat, SwampSat, CAPE 2, DragonSat 1, KySat 2, PhoneSat v2.4