Space Technology 5
Space Technology 5 (ST5) of the NASA New Millennium program was a test of ten new technologies aboard a group of microsatellites. Developed by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, the three individual small spacecraft were launched together from the belly of a Lockheed L-1011 aboard the Pegasus XL rocket, on 22 March 2006. One technology involved antennas that were designed by computers using an evolutionary AI system developed at NASA Ames Research Center. The ST5 on-board flight computer, the C&DH (Command & Data Handling) system, was based on a Mongoose-V radiation-hardened microprocessor.
Artist's rendering of the "string of pearls" satellite constellation | |
| Operator | NASA / GSFC |
|---|---|
| COSPAR ID | 2006-008A through 2006-008C |
| SATCAT no. | 28980 through 28982 |
| Website | nmp.jpl.nasa.gov/st5 |
| Mission duration | 17 years, 10 months and 19 days (in orbit) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | UCLA Kennedy Space Center New Mexico State University Physical Science Laboratory |
| Launch mass | 25 kilograms (55 lb) |
| Power | ≈20–25 W @ 9–10 V |
| End of mission | |
| Deactivated | June 30, 2006 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Sun synchronous |
| Eccentricity | 0.239 |
| Perigee altitude | 300 km (190 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 4,500 km (2,800 mi) |
| Inclination | 105.6° |
| Transponders | |
| Band | X-Band |
| Bandwidth | 1 Kbps / 1 or 100 Kbps |
On 30 June 2006 the satellites making up ST5 were shut down after successfully completing their technology validation mission.
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