EARS

This program proposes to design and build a low-cost spacecraft capable of supporting a variety of small experiments for orbital periods potentially longer than a year. The vehicle is to be designed to operate and return to Earth autonomously, to be reusable with minimal refurbishment, and to be compatible with common launch vehicles secondary payload attachments. The spacecraft is based on a current microsatellite platform with the addition of a heat shield, a powerful propulsion system and a recover system. The spacecraft is launched in LEO and perform its mission, which can be IOD/IOV, microgravity scientific experiments, or commercial activities like microgravity manufacturing. Thanks to its own propulsion system the spacecraft can re-position itself and perform a controlled reentry. After reentry and when the vehicle slows to the designated Mach number, a drogue parachute will be deployed which will decelerate the vehicle to a condition permitting deployment of the steerable gliding parachute. Terminal descent on the main parachute is controlled so that the vehicle soft-lands at a designated landing site. The reusability feature has four main advantages: - Recover of the payload for usage/inspection/analysis - Possibility to reuse the satellite for different missions - Possibility to abort a mission without loss of the payload - Limited pollution, debris mitigation both on ground and in orbit This platform follows the call indications as it deals with re-entry technologies, green propulsion, advanced GNC. Marketing surveys have indicated that there is considerable user interest for such a platform.