MAST (MULTIPLE APPLICATION SURVIVABLE TETHER EXPERIMENT) is a triplet of 1.0-kg American Cubesats, one below the other. It was launched by a Dnepr rocket from Baikonur at 07:02 UT on 2007 April 17.
The experiment hardware was designed under a NASA Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) collaboration between Tethers Unlimited, Inc. (TUI) and Stanford University, with TUI developing the tether, tether deployer, tether inspection subsystem, satellite avionics, and software, and Stanford students developing the satellite structures and assisting with the avionics design.
MAST was intended to study damage to the multiple-wire tether due to meteoric impacts and UV-engendered degradation. Once in orbit, two of the three were to separate as free flyers. After launch, as of 25 April 2007, TUI had made contact with the "Gadget" picosatellite, but not with "Ted", the tether-deployer picosatellite, or "Ralph," the end mass.
The initial orbital parameters were period 99.1 min, apogee 782 km, perigee 647 km, and inclination 98.1 deg.
Facts in Brief
Launch Date: 2007-04-17
Launch Vehicle: Dnepr
Launch Site: Tyuratam (Baikonur Cosmodrome), Kazakhstan