SpaceDev Satellite
Chosen For ORS Inaugural Jumpstart Mission
(10 March 2008) SpaceDev, Inc.
announced today that it has been selected to provide the first commercial
satellite to be readied for the Department of Defense Operationally Responsive
Space Office's (ORS) new Jumpstart Mission.
Jumpstart is a
multi-pronged effort that will fly a responsive payload on the SpaceX Falcon 1
Flight 003 mission, currently scheduled for a June 2008 launch from Kwajalein
Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
Colonel Kevin McLaughlin, Director of the
ORS Office, stated, "The Jumpstart mission is an exciting and important
milestone for the ORS Office. It brings together a diverse government and
industry team to demonstrate numerous ORS enablers needed to bring space power
to our deployed forces. The SpaceDev satellite bus is expected to be a key
contributor in the responsive satellite arena and we are pleased to be their
teammate on this important mission."
The Jumpstart mission will achieve
multiple objectives for the newly formed ORS Office. First, it will demonstrate
agility and flexibility in the rapid integration of payloads. The Jumpstart
mission will also demonstrate several ORS enablers and establish a framework
for responsive processes. These enablers include a demonstration of the
following: rapid call up of a mission to launch; rapid development, integration
and checkout of spacecraft; a concept of operations that allows flexibility
late in the payload processing flow to determine which mission will fly;
efficiencies in processes and procedures to reduce payload integration
timelines; and identification and assurance of payload technical
readiness.
"We would like to thank ORS for having the confidence in
SpaceDev as the prime contractor, and its team to be part of this historic
mission," said Mark N. Sirangelo, SpaceDev's Chairman and CEO. "Our ORS bus is
a derivative of the micro-satellite space technology developed by us for the
Missile Defense Agency and builds upon the significant investment in that
program. We believe that this is a significant step in the advancement of small
satellites as part of our space program."
About
SpaceDev
SpaceDev, Inc. is a space technology/aerospace company that
creates and sells affordable and innovative space products and mission
solutions.
(source: SpaceDev)
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