26930 - PICOSAT 9

PICOSAT 9 is a British-built (US DOD-funded) microsatellite (67 kg) to test electronic components/systems in space conditions. It carries four test payloads: Polymer Battery Experiment (PBEX), Ionospheric Occultation Experiment (IOX), Coherent Electromagnetic Radio Tomography (CERTO) and an ultra-quiet platform (OPPEX). The name PICO combines the first letters of all four experiments. PICOSat is designed for a minimum of one year of on orbit operations. PICOSat flies in a 800 km circular orbit with a 67 degree inclination. PICOSat uses a gravity gradient boom for stabilization. The body mounted solar panels produce an average on orbit power of 22 W. The Ultra-Quiet Platform (UQP), developed by the Air Force Research Lab, aims to provide a 10:1 reduction in vibration isolation over a 100 Hz bandwidth between the spacecraft bus and a science payload.

PICOSAT 9 was launched, along with STARSHINE 3, PCSAT, and SAPPHIRE, by an Athena 1 rocket from the Kodiak Launch Complex (KLC) on Alaska's Kodiak Island (located 400 km south of Anchorage) at 02:40 UT on 2001 September 30. (Foul weather and auroral conditions had delayed the launch many times.) The initial orbital parameters of the circular orbit were period 101 min, altitude 794 km, and inclination 67 deg.

Facts in Brief

Launch Date: 2001-09-30
Launch Vehicle: Athena 1
Launch Site: Kodiak Launch Complex, United States