Payload Information

Orbital Express (DARPA contract with Boeing PhantomWorks)
- Fully autonomous rendezvous and proximity operations
- On-orbit satellite servicing

STPSat-1 (Space Test Program contract with AeroAstro)
- SHIMMER (NRL): Ultraviolet spectrometer to image the Earth's atmosphere
- CITRIS (NRL): Atmospheric electron counting and RF effects

CFESat (Los Alamos National Laboratory - spacecraft bus from Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd)
- Detection and geo-location of VHF/UHF signals
- Reconfigurable on-orbit, Single Event Upset mitigation techniques

FalconSat-3 (US Air Force Academy)
- MPACS: Micro-propulsion attitude control system
- FLAPS: Atmospheric characterization of the ionosphere
- PLANE: Plasma turbulence characterization around spacecraft

MidSTAR-1 (US Naval Academy)
- ICSat: Demonstrate moving spacecraft data via RF link
- CFTP (from Naval Postgraduate School): Commercial-Off-The-Shelf configurable, fault tolerant processor

Mission Information

First Air Force launch on Atlas V
First flight of EELV Secondary Payload Adaptor (ESPA)
Validate ESPA concept for auxiliary payloads
Maximize efficient use of US Spacelift Capability
First AF mission with 6 unique spacecraft (9 experiments)
First Atlas V dual-orbit trajectory
First dedicated EELV mission for DoD Space Test Program
First R&D (Class C/D) mission for EELV

Launch Vehicle: Atlas V-401
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral AFS, FL (SLC-41)

Two Mission Orbits:
46.0 deg - 492 km (Orbital Express & MidSTAR-1)
35.4 deg - 560 km (STPSat-1, CFESat, FalconSat-3)
Launch Date: 8 Mar 07

Illustration shows the STP 1 payload, with Orbital Express above and the four smaller spacecraft mounted on separation ring. Credit: Air Force