NASA's Space Technology 5 micro-satellites have arrived at the Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, launch site for a scheduled February lift-off aboard a Pegasus XL rocket.
The launch window extends from February 28 to March 31, 2006.
The ST5 Project consists of three micro-satellites. The mass for all three is only 25 kilograms when fully fuelled
Those micro-sats will test and validate new technologies for future science missions. The hope is ST5 will demonstrate the benefits of a group of small, low-cost spacecraft taking measurements at the same time in different locations. The ST5 satellites are to operate in space for at least 90 days after launch from Vandenberg, about 55 miles northwest of Santa Barbara, California. During flight validation of its technologies, ST5 may measure the effect of solar activity on the Earth's magnetosphere, the region of upper atmosphere that surrounds our planet.
The project is a part of NASA's New Millennium Program, which was created to identify, develop, build, and test innovative technologies and concepts for use in future missions.
Orbit: Perigee (lowest orbital altitude): 300 km Apogee (highest orbital altitude): 4500 km Orbital inclination: 105.6 degrees (Sun synchronous) Orbital period: 136 minutes Number of orbits per day: about 10.5
