FASTRAC Satellites Get Updated Software, New Antennas
June 26, 2008
Stephen Clark
FASTRAC engineers are busily putting the finishing touches on the mission's two spacecraft sitting inside the Pickle Research Campus in northwest Austin.
Since the spacecraft were delivered back to Austin from Kirtland Air Force Base near Albuquerque last November, the team has nearly finished developing software, replaced structural bolts and memory cards, and prepared to attach new VHF antennas to the satellites.
"The software is pretty much finished," said Sebastian Munoz, FASTRAC project manager. "We're just verifying it is ready to go."
Also, three new VHF antennas were recently delivered to the FASTRAC team from Comtelco Industries Inc. of Illinois.
The VHF antennas, each with a mass of just 0.4 pounds, will be used to for space-to-space communications between the two spacecraft while separated at large distances. The antennas will also be used in communications between the ground and the satellites.
The new antennas were ordered to replace larger antennas used on the spacecraft earlier in the mission's development. The FASTRAC team received word from the Air Force Research Laboratory that the older antennas, stretching one foot long from the main body of the spacecraft, were too large to fit inside the mission's allotted space inside the Minotaur IV launch vehicle.
Two VHF antennas will be affixed to FASTRAC 1, affectionately named Sara Lily after one of the engineer's daughters. A single VHF antenna will be fastened on FASTRAC 2, also nicknamed Emma after the daughter of another engineer.
The new antennas are just three inches long and have better performance than the old antennas.
Work on the satellites in Austin is expected to wrap up by the end of the summer, when the two spacecraft will be shipped to an AFRL facility at Kirtland. There the satellites will undergo prelaunch testing, beginning with vibration testing.
"That test basically ensures we can survive the launch environment," Munoz said.
The FASTRAC satellites will also be put in a vacuum chamber to simulate the environment of space, including the wide spread of temperatures the spacecraft will encounter in orbit.
"We'll have the spacecraft operate during part of that cycle to make sure none of the components are damaged," Munoz said.
Officials aim to complete the testing and have the two spacecraft tucked inside a shipping container by December, ready to be transported to the launch site at Kodiak Island, Alaska. The launch is currently scheduled for December 2009.
News Archive
June 26, 2008 - FASTRAC Satellites Get Updated Software, New Antennas by Stephen Clark
March 8, 2008 - FASTRAC Satellites to Set Up and Ship Out! by Eric Hagen
August 27, 2006 - Satellites Undergoing Testing at AFRL by Glenn Lightsey
June 25, 2006 - FASTRAC Satellites Leave Texas by Greg Holt
June 14, 2006 - FASTRAC Frequency Request Submitted by Glenn Lightsey
December 15, 2005 - FASTRAC Mission Receives Critical D.O.D. Ranking for Launch by Jamin Greenbaum
April 20, 2005 - FASTRAC Personnel Changes by Glenn Lightsey
January 11, 2005 - FASTRAC Victorious, Headed to Space! by Glenn Lightsey
January 7, 2005 - FASTRAC Headed to Nevada for Competition by Glenn Lightsey
January 3, 2005 - FASTRAC Satellite Completes Thermal/Vacuum Test by Glenn Lightsey
December 19, 2004 - Satellite Integration Nears Completion by Glenn Lightsey
December 7, 2004 - FASTRAC Thermal Vac Testing Progresses by Greg Holt
November 28, 2004 - Solar Cells See Sunlight by Greg Holt
July 27, 2004 - FASTRAC Separation Test aboard KC-135 a Success! by FASTRAC team
May 15, 2004 - Balloon Satellite by FASTRAC team