{"id":17690,"date":"2019-02-01T11:29:28","date_gmt":"2019-02-01T16:29:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=17690"},"modified":"2019-02-01T11:29:28","modified_gmt":"2019-02-01T16:29:28","slug":"ecliptic-enterprises-avionics-supported-successful-launch-of-sso-a-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=17690","title":{"rendered":"Ecliptic Enterprises avionics supported successful launch of SSO-A mission"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rex Ridenoure of Ecliptic Enterprises<\/a> forwarded to me the update below on the company’s involvement with the launch of 64 satellites<\/a>, including many university CubeSats, on a single SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket last December. The SSO-A mission<\/a> was organized by Spaceflight<\/a>.<\/p>\n

(I’ll note that Ecliptic is leading the development of the Planetary Society<\/a>‘s LightSail 2<\/a>, which should launch as a secondary<\/a> on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy this spring.)<\/p>\n

Avionics from Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation Key to Successful SSO-A Mission<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pasadena, California \u2013 2019 February 1<\/strong>. The novel Sun-Synchronous Orbit-A mission (SSO-A) successfully completed on December 3 last year relied significantly on error-free operation of an extensive suite of avionics supplied by Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation (Pasadena, California). Conceived in 2015 by Spaceflight (Seattle, Washington), SSO-A was the first fully dedicated rideshare mission, where 64 small satellites were integrated onto a single large launch vehicle (a SpaceX Falcon 9) via a modular stack of support structure, launched into Low Earth orbit and then separately deployed from the support structure to become independent Earth-orbiting satellites. This mission set a new U.S. record for the most satellites launched by a single launch vehicle: 64.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg AFB with the 64 satellites of the SSO-A mission. Photo credit SpaceX.
<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once reaching orbit, avionics on the Falcon 9 rocket\u2019s upper stage initiated six deployment events: separation of a large module called the Upper Free-Flyer (UFF), separation of a smaller module called the Lower Free-Flyer (LFF) and release of four small satellites which were attached to a structural module that remined with the second stage. All of the satellites deployed from the UFF and LFF were of the microsat\/CubeSat class\u201420 on the UFF and 40 on the LFF. Ecliptic\u2019s avionics interfaced with five different separation system designs from four different vendors.<\/p>\n

The UFF and LFF were both outfitted with a redundant suite of Ecliptic-supplied control avionics, battery packs, radio transmitters and wire harnesses. Separation from the Falcon 9 activated these systems, and for several more hours a combined 60 spacecraft release events were commanded by the electronics, following complex, thoroughly tested event sequences stored in non-volatile memory. Confirmation signals verifying spacecraft release and other important engineering telemetry were also captured and relayed to various tracking stations around the globe.<\/p>\n

\u201cEcliptic\u2019s products and services were the key to mission success,\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

wrote Spaceflight\u2019s SSO-A Mission Director Jeff Roberts as he commended the firm for its support of the mission. Ecliptic began its contract with Spaceflight over two years before the launch, stepping through requirements-definition and design phases, build-up of development model test versions of the system, and finally build-up and environmental testing of the flight units. As part of the overall effort, Ecliptic opened a new wiring harness lab and for over a year and a half designed, fabricated and tested over two miles of test and flight harnesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cProgrammatically and technically, this was a very challenging effort,\u201d said Ecliptic\u2019s COO Riki Munakata, who also served as Project Manager for the contract. \u201cThe hardware, software and harnessing designs had to be flexible enough to deal with many changes in the SSO-A payload manifest during the course of the contract, and we knew that the overall operation ultimately had to be flawless for the mission to succeed 100%.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

About Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation<\/strong>: Ecliptic, a privately held firm based in Pasadena, California, provides space avionics and sensor systems to commercial, civil and defense-related markets in the U.S. and abroad. Its popular RocketCam™ family of onboard video systems provides improved situational awareness on rockets and spacecraft, while its variants of experiment and payload control avionics manage complex sequencing, monitoring, datahandling and data-routing functions for a wide range of mission applications. Ecliptic also supports selected small satellite- and CubeSat-class engineering, integration, testing and operations activities, including hosted payload accommodations. See more at http:\/\/www.EclipticEnterprises.com<\/a>. RocketCam™ is a trademark of Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation.<\/p>\n

About Spaceflight<\/strong>: Spaceflight is revolutionizing the business of spaceflight by delivering a new model for accessing space. A comprehensive launch services and mission management provider, the company provides a straightforward and cost-effective suite of products and services including state-of-the-art satellite infrastructure and rideshare launch offerings that enable commercial and government entities to achieve their mission goals on time and on budget. A service offering of Spaceflight Industries, Inc. in Seattle, Spaceflight provides its services through a global network of partners and launch vehicle providers. For more information, visit http:\/\/www.spaceflight.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rex Ridenoure of Ecliptic Enterprises forwarded to me the update below on the company’s involvement with the launch of 64 satellites, including many university CubeSats, on a single SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket last December. The SSO-A mission was organized by Spaceflight. (I’ll note that Ecliptic is leading the development of the Planetary Society‘s LightSail 2, … Continue reading Ecliptic Enterprises avionics supported successful launch of SSO-A mission<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-amateurstudent-satellite","category-space-systems"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p34aWK-4Bk","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19149,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=19149","url_meta":{"origin":17690,"position":0},"title":"Student and amateur CubeSat news roundup – June.30.2019","author":"TopSpacer","date":"June 30, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"A sampling of recent articles, press releases, etc. related to student and amateur CubeSat \/ SmallSat projects and programs: ** Florida high school student satellite, StangSat, reaches orbit via the SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch last week. Students at Merritt Island High School (MIHS) designed and built the CubeSat. A local\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Amateur\/Student Satellite"","block_context":{"text":"Amateur\/Student Satellite","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"MIHS students working on StangSat","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/img_37341.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17112,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=17112","url_meta":{"origin":17690,"position":1},"title":"Student CubeSat projects roundup – Nov.20.2018","author":"TopSpacer","date":"November 20, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"A sampling of recent articles, press releases, etc. about student and amateur CubeSat \/ smallsat projects and programs: ** Yahsat, Khalifa University deliver MYSAT-1 CubeSat to ISS - Telecompaper UAE-based satellite operator Yahsat, Khalifa University of Science and Technology and Northrop Grumman have announced the successful launch of the MYSAT-1\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Amateur\/Student Satellite"","block_context":{"text":"Amateur\/Student Satellite","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17137,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=17137","url_meta":{"origin":17690,"position":2},"title":"Two rockets set to orbit dozens of payloads including space artworks","author":"TopSpacer","date":"November 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"There are two rocket launches scheduled for this Wednesday that will each carry large collections of small satellites into low earth orbit. A SpaceX Falcon 9 is set to lift off from Southern California with \"more than 60 satellites from more than 30 organizations\" in the SSO-A mission brokered by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Amateur\/Student Satellite"","block_context":{"text":"Amateur\/Student Satellite","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/space-steam1-1024x574.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17050,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=17050","url_meta":{"origin":17690,"position":3},"title":"Lots of rocket launches planned for next 10 days","author":"TopSpacer","date":"November 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Several rocket launches around the world are scheduled for the next couple of weeks. Most of these will be webcast. ** Rocket Lab Electron - Nov.10\/11, 10 p.m.-2 a.m. EST (0300-0700 GMT on 11th) - Rocket Lab is ready to put several commercial smallsats into low earth orbit on the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=37"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=hobbyspace&l=ur2&o=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17201,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=17201","url_meta":{"origin":17690,"position":4},"title":"Videos: Recent rocket launches – SpaceX Falcon 9, Ariane 5, Russian Soyuz and Rokot","author":"TopSpacer","date":"December 5, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"** Dec. 5: SpaceX Falcon 9 Dragon Resupply Mission (CRS-16) from Cape Canaveral: Falcon 9 successfully lofts CRS-16 Dragon enroute to ISS \u2013 Booster spins out but soft lands in water \u2013 NASASpaceFlight.com https:\/\/youtu.be\/3MFo-H44h7Q [ Update 3: Another good view of the booster. Shows it clear detail the stage when\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Rockets"","block_context":{"text":"Rockets","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=5"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=hobbyspace&l=am2&o=1&a=1324000937","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17169,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=17169","url_meta":{"origin":17690,"position":5},"title":"Videos: Successful Indian and South Korean rocket launches","author":"TopSpacer","date":"November 29, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"India's launch of the country's HysIS Earth observation satellite and 30 secondary small satellites on a PSLV rocket was a success on Wednesday: https:\/\/youtu.be\/OIGcIYRhj1A See also: Live coverage: Indian rocket launches with 31 satellites \u2013 Spaceflight Now PSLV set for HySIS launch with numerous co-passengers \u2013 NASASpaceFlight.com Isro's PSLV C43\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Rockets"","block_context":{"text":"Rockets","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=5"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=hobbyspace&l=ur2&o=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17690"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17693,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17690\/revisions\/17693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}