Subscribe with SteadySpinnaker-3 (CP 15) / Firefly Capsule 1
Spinnaker-3/Firefly Capsule 1 [Purdue University]
Spinnaker-3 / Firefly Capsule 1 are some payloads attached to the maiden Firefly-Alpha (Block 1) rocket stage.
The Spinnaker-3 (CP 15) payload is a collaboration between the Cal Poly Cubesat Lab, Purdue University, and NASA. It will deploy an 18 m2 dragsail to provide deorbit capability for the Firefly Alpha launch vehicle upper stage. The payload is composed of an 8U dragsail device with a 1U avionics box and a 12U stilt system for raising the mechanism above other payloads situated on top of the payload ring.
The dragsail device consists of four 3 m SHEARLESS carbon fiber booms wrapped around a single hub and four transparent CP-1 sail quadrants. A single stepper motor will actuate sail deployment and two cameras mounted to the avionics box will capture images of sail deployment. A half-duplex UHF-band radio and a dipole antenna will provide uplink and downlink capability to tracking stations at Purdue University and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for mission operations.
The Firefly Capsule 1 consists of various nontechnical items from around the world such as photos, artwork, and childrens books.
The satellite is one of the passengers on the maiden launch of the Firefly-Alpha (Block 1) rocket.
A second Firefly Capsule 2 was a passenger on the second Firefly-Alpha (Block 1) rocket, but the orbit was lower than planned.
| Nation: | USA |
|---|---|
| Type / Application: | Technology |
| Operator: | Cal Poly Cubesat Lab, Purdue University, NASA, Firefly Aerospace |
| Contractors: | Cal Poly Cubesat Lab, Purdue University, NASA, Firefly Aerospace |
| Equipment: | |
| Configuration: | Equipment mounted on upper stage |
| Propulsion: | None in orbit |
| Power: | Solar cells, batteries |
| Lifetime: | |
| Mass: | |
| Orbit: |
| Satellite | COSPAR | Date | LS | Launch Vehicle | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spinnaker-3 (CP 15) / Firefly Capsule 1 | 2021-F08 | 03.09.2021 | Va SLC-2W | F | Firefly-Alpha (Block 1) | with Serenity, Hiapo, BSS 1, FossaSat 1b, FossaSat 2, GENESIS L, GENESIS N, Qubik 1, Qubik 2 |
| Firefly Capsule 2 | 2022-122E | 01.10.2022 | Va SLC-2W | p | Firefly-Alpha (Block 1) | with Serenity (2), TechEdSat 15, GENESIS G, GENESIS J, Qubik 3, Qubik 4, FossaSat 1b (2) |
Launch Sites:
- Va = Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, USA
References:
- Firefly Aerospace: Firefly Alpha NESDIS Information Submission
- Polysat: Missions In Development - Spinnaker-3
