ASCENT [Blue Canyon Tech]
Official name ASCENT
Alternative name ASCENT
Cospar ID 2021-118E
Norad ID 51287
Launch date 2021-12-07
Launch site AFETR
Launch vehicle Atlas-5(551)²
Country/Organization USA
Type application Technology
Operator Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)
RCS size LARGE
Decay date ON ORBIT
Period (min) 1422.05
Inclination (deg) 2.21
Perigee (km) 35492
Apogee (km) 35530
Eccentricity 0.000535045478865704
Mean motion (revs. per day) 1.01262262227067
Semi-Major axis (km) 41889.135
Raan (deg) 87.5046
Arg of perigee (deg) 40.4653
Shape Box
Mass (kg) 25
Height (m) 0.3
Width (m) 0.2
Depth (m) 0.2
Span (m^2) 0.3
Contractors Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) (payload); Blue Canyon Technologies (BCT) (bus)
Propulsion ?
Configuration CubeSat (12U)
Power 2 deployable solar arrays, solar cells, batteries

Ascent is a mission to demonstrate various CubeSat operations in geostationary orbit (GEO).

AFRL awarded a second contract for BCT to build, test and deliver a 12U-CubeSat bus for the Ascent mission. AFRL provided and integrated the Ascent payload with BCT?s 12U spacecraft bus. Blue Canyon Technologies will perform bus-level testing of the complete spacecraft prior to delivery.

Ascent?s mission has been to evaluate the performance of COTS technology, in the GEO space environment, where satellites match the Earth?s rotation. Having a better understanding of how various components survive in this harsh environment, is critical to fielding robust satellites.

Ascent completed its mission in October 2022.

Satellite COSPAR Date LS Launch Vehicle Remarks
ASCENT 2021-118E 2021-12-07 AFETR Atlas-5(551)² with STPSat 6, LDPE 1