AeroAstro, along with prime contractor Ball Aerospace & Technologies, has successfully completed the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) for the DoD Space Test Program Standard Interface Vehicle (STP-SIV) program.
Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. (BATC) and AeroAstro were awarded the Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract in 2006, for up to six vehicles, with the first vehicle contract valued at $26M. AeroAstro is responsible for supplying the spacecraft bus as well as providing integration, launch and mission operation support. As prime contractor, Ball Aerospace is responsible for the overall system including the standard payload interface design, payload integration, space vehicle environmental testing, and launch and mission support.
The SIV PDR was a three-day review conducted February 27 – March 1 at AeroAstro. AeroAstro presented technical details and trade study results on every bus subsystem, and described operational modes and major interfaces. The PDR focused on the spacecraft’s ability to meet the full range of performance requirements, as the SIV bus supports a wide range of LEO orbits and will be launched by a variety of launch vehicles including the recently- proven EELV Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA).
“AeroAstro was pleased to complete this significant milestone on the SIV program within a week of successfully launching STPSat-1 on the first ESPA,” said Pat Remias, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Space of AeroAstro. “Many of the lessons-learned from STPSat-1 have been applied to simplify and enhance the STP-SIV design, which must meet a wide range of LEO orbits and launch accommodations rather than being tailored for a single mission. The SIV design is maturing rapidly and supports the Space Test Program’s goal of retiring non-recurring engineering cost and risk in this phase, thus reducing the price and lead-time of subsequent spacecraft orders under this IDIQ contract.”
AeroAstro satisfied all PDR exit criteria and is proceeding to the next phase, Critical Design Review (CDR). CDR is currently scheduled for September 2007.
About the SIV Spacecraft
The STP-SIV spacecraft bus is derived largely from AeroAstro’s STPSat-1 space vehicle, which launched successfully on the first ESPA on March 8th of this year. The innovative SIV design includes a separable Payload Standard Interface Module that may be integrated in parallel with the bus to support accelerated launch schedules and reduce technical risk.
About AeroAstro
AeroAstro, founded in 1988, is a leader in innovative microsatellite systems, components, and advanced communications technologies. AeroAstro was the prime contractor for STPSat-1, responsible for spacecraft design and fabrication, integration of all experiments, space vehicle testing, launch integration support, launch and early orbit operations support, and post- launch mission operations support.
