STSS Risk Reduction Flight Eyes Launch
Jefferson Morris jeff_morris@AviationWeek.com
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) Space Tracking and Surveillance System Advanced Technology Risk Reduction (STSS ATRR) mission is set for launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on March 5.
Liftoff is slated for a launch window of 1:24 p.m. to 1:52 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta II 7920-10C rocket from Space Launch Complex-2 West. "Everything is on track for a May 5 launch," ULA spokesman Mike Rein told Aerospace DAILY.
Spacecraft separation will take place 58 minutes after launch, and the spacecraft will be placed in a polar orbit. STSS ATRR "serves as a pathfinder for future launch and mission technology for the Missile Defense Agency," according to NASA, which is managing the launch for MDA.
Launch of STSS ATRR will be followed in late July by the tandem launch of two STSS demonstration satellites from Cape Canaveral, Fla., also aboard a Delta II. Intended to serve as a prelude to a future operational STSS constellation, the demonstration satellites slipped from an earlier launch target of April 2008 due to hardware problems on one of the spacecraft.
According to a recent U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) assessment of the program, STSS also has been hampered by staffing shortages and budget cuts. To compensate for receiving less funding than expected in fiscal 2009, the program plans to stretch out planned software upgrades for the ground segment and demonstration satellites, with final upgrades delayed by almost two years, GAO says.
Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor for STSS, which was formerly known as the Space-Based Infrared System Low program. STSS is designed to track ballistic missiles.
Artist's concept: Northrop Grumman
