The STP-3 mission carried two satellites built by Northrup Grumman, namely the Space Test Program Satellite (STPSat)-6 and the Long Duration Propulsive Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA), known as LDPE-1 for short. . The two satellites will operate in Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO) or at an altitude of about 36,000 km for eight and three years.
Both satellites carry a certain amount of payload. The STPSat-6 satellite carries two main payloads, the NNSA nuclear detector and NASA’s laser communications link, as well as a number of other Department of Defense experiments. The LDPE-1 satellite carries an ESPA ring payload adapter and propulsion system. (Read also; This is the greatness of Russian military satellites, capable of detecting ballistic missile firing )
“STP-3’s mission is to advance military and civilian experimental goals by demonstrating the latest generation of space technology. The goal is to provide the critical data needed to mitigate future space program risks,” said Colonel Brian Denaro, program executive for Outer Space Development at the Space Systems Command (SSC), in a press release quoted by SINDOnews from the breakingdefense page.
The NNSA nuclear detector is an operational system for detecting nuclear explosions using the Space and Atmospheric Burst Reporting System 3 (SABRS-3) device. Such a so-called NUDET device is critical to the US government’s ability to monitor compliance with nuclear arms control treaties. (Read also; China Launches Two Secret Military Satellites )
Among these are the 1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty which prohibits the detonation of nuclear weapons in space, the atmosphere or under the sea, the NNSA website says. The SABR-3 will further support the Strategic Command’s nuclear warfare mission. (Read also; Russia and China Accused of Attacking US Satellites Daily in this Way )
Meanwhile, NASA’s laser communication link contains a Laser Communication Relay Demonstration (LCRD) designed to test the next generation of satellite data relay technology. During the two-year mission, researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory will first test the LCRD’s ability to send data between ground stations in California and Hawaii to a satellite. It will then be used to communicate with the International Space Station.
“Using lasers to transmit data can be done at speeds 10 to 100 times better than current radio systems. For example, reducing transmission times to Mars from weeks to days,” NASA said.
Today’s radio communications are too slow to accommodate timely voice communications over such distances, let alone the transmission of high-density data such as 3D maps. Optical communication will be a fundamental element for NASA’s planned exploration of the Moon and Mars, including the Space Force to expand its operations from GEO to orbit beyond the Moon.
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