The latest in a series of nanosatellites built by the Aerospace Corporation with support from the Space and Missile Systems Center’s (SMC) Development Planning Directorate was deployed from the Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-135) on June 20, the company said in a press release.
The Pico Satellite Solar Cell Testbed 2 (PSSC2) represents a low cost risk reduction for the upcoming SMC Space Environmental Monitoring Nanosat Experiment (SENSE).
Fabricated and delivered in six months due to the NASA decision to fly STS-135, this flight opportunity and safety process were managed at the DoD Space Test Program’s Human Space Flight Payloads Office.
The Space Shuttle Atlantis successful touched down on July 21 with the PSSC2 being the last satellite deployed by STS-135. Its cameras also took the final on-orbit photos of the shuttle. The PSSC2 nanosatellite, the 12th miniature satellite launched by Aerospace, will be controlled using the primary ground station at Aerospace and an Internet-based ground station network, consisting of two additional antennas in U.S. territories. Two onboard GPS receivers will provide accurate time and position information to facilitate analyses of tracking errors, the company stated.