Appendix 3 – Current and planned satellite formation flying Formation type Mission/Launch (Programme) No. of satellites (Orbit)
Objectives
Supporting Organizations
Constellation
Mission/Launch (Programme)
Science Space Technology-5 (ST-5) / 2005 Nanosat Constellation Trailblazer (New Millennium Programme) 3 satellites (GEO, r ~ 30000km) Demonstrate new technologies, such as: - long life Li-Fe batteries; - autonomous formation flying and communications instrument; - GPS relative positioning; - MEMS chip for attitude control. Precursor for MagCON Mission NASA GSFC Magnetospheric Constellation Mission – MagCON Also known as DRACO - Dynamic Response and Coupling Observatory (Solar Terrestrial Probe - STP)
No. of satellites (Orbit)
50 satellites (nested elliptical orbits at low inclination, r = 3*7RE to 3*40RE and, 12RE satellite separation distance)
Objectives
- Characterize magnetotail dynamics; - Discover how magnetotail stores, transports and releases matter and energy; - Understand the effects of the Solar wind on the magnetotail.
Supporting
NASA SEC/STP, GSFC, Boston
Communications Orbcomm 29 satellites (LEO, r = 775 km) Providing Machine-toMachine (M2M) satellite communications and integration services
ORBCOMM, Inc. Saudicomsat (Saudi Arabian Commercial Telecommunication Program) 7 satellites on-orbit 24 satellites planed to be launched in the future in order to form a constellation for providing communications services via satellites (LEO, r = 700 km, sun synchronous orbit) Providing information regarding the location of water and mineral sources, environmental pollution control, urban planning, agricultural production and weather observation. KACST Space Research
Military
University Programs/ Demonstrators
Organizations Mission/Launch (Programme)
No. of satellites (Orbit)
Objectives Supporting Organizations Mission/Launch (Programme) No. of satellites (Orbit) Objectives Supporting Organizations Mission/Launch (Programme)
No. of satellites (Orbit)
University e-CORCE (e-Constellation d’Observation REcurrente Cellulaire) (launching and deployment: 2013-2017) 104 satellites, 8 planes, 13 satellites/plane (LEO, r ~600 km, sun synchronous orbit) Providing a high-resolution picture of Earth on the Web, refreshed every week (1 Earth, 1 day, 1 meter) CNES, EADS Astrium, RapidEye / August 2008 5 satellites (LEO, 600–620 km, sun synchronous orbit) Providing a range of Earth-observation products and services to global user community. Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd., RapidEye AG, MDA (MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.) Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) 1st generation: AlSAT-1 (Algeria) / November 2002 BilSAT (Turkey) / mission completed in August 2006 NigeriaSAT-1 (Nigeria) / September 2003 UK-DMC (United Kingdom) / September 2003 2nd generation: Beijing-1 (China) / October 2005 UK-DMC 2 (United Kingdom) / July 2009 Deimos-1 (Spanish commercial) / July 2009
Institute
Objectives Supporting Organizations
Mission/Launch (Programme)
(LEO, sun synchronous orbit) Providing emergency Earth imaging for disaster relief under the International Charter for Space and Major Disasters Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd., DMC International Imaging
TechSat21 Flight Experiment / 2003
Pathfinder NASA’s SEC Magnetospheric Constellation Project (University Nanosatellite Programme)
No. of satellites (Orbit)
3 satellites (LEO, r = 600 km)
3 satellites
Objectives
Microsatellites must accurately maintain 500 m separation.
Flying 3 picosatellites (