STEP 3 (P92-2)

STEP 3 [TRW]

STEP 3 (Space Test Experiment Platform 3) was an experimental satellite launched for the Space Test Program (STP).

Prime contractor for the mission was TRW. The spacecraft was 3-axis stabilized and based on CTA's LEOStar bus.

STEP 3 featured following experiments for DoD:

  • ACTEX (Advanced Controls technology experiments),
  • EDMM (erasable disk mass memory),
  • SAMMES (space active modular experiment),
  • SAWAFE (strategic attack warning & assessment flight experiment),
  • SQUOD (space qualified optical disk)

STEP 3 was lost in an launch failure of the air launched Pegasus-XL rocket.

Nation: USA
Type / Application: Experimental
Operator: US Air Force (USAF) STP (Space Test Program)
Contractors: TRW, CTA → Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC) (Bus)
Equipment: ACTEX, EDMM, SAMMES, SAWAFE, SQUOD
Configuration: LEOStar
Propulsion: None
Power: 4 deployable fixed solar arrays, batteries
Lifetime:
Mass: 268 kg
Orbit: 450 km polar orbit
Satellite COSPAR Date LS Launch Vehicle Remarks
STEP 3 (P92-2) 1995-F03 22.06.1995 Va, L-1011, RW30/12 F Pegasus-XL

Launch Sites:

  • Va =   Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, USA   USA

References:

Further STP missions:

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