Star Bus

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Artist impression of Optus D1, built on the Orbital Star Bus platform OptusD1 SatelliteOnly.jpg
Artist impression of Optus D1, built on the Orbital Star Bus platform

Star Bus is a satellite bus family of Orbital ATK. It was originally developed by Thomas van der Heyden, co-founder of CTAI, and later sold to and manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corporation.[ citation needed ]

Contents

The Star Bus satellite platform is designed for various applications, including communications, remote sensing, and scientific missions. The highly configurable platform allows customization to meet specific mission requirements. In addition, it can support a wide range of payloads, including high-resolution imaging systems, microwave sensors, and advanced communication systems.

The Star Bus platform is designed with a modular architecture, allowing for easy integration of various subsystems and payloads. The bus provides power, communications, and data handling capabilities, while the loads provide mission-specific capabilities. The platform is designed to be highly reliable and has been used in various missions, including the Hubble Space Telescope and NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto.

History

The first satellite program based on the Star Bus platform, developed by Thomas van der Heyden for the Indonesian Direct Broadcast program IndoVision, was IndoStar-1, which was launched in November 1997.[ citation needed ]

Variants

NameMission typeOrbitPayload capabilityMission life
RapidStar-1National Security Space LEO 60 kg/75W1–5 years
RapidStar-2National Security SpaceLEO200 kg/500W1–5 years
LEOStar-2Civil/DefenceLEO150 kg/400W1–10 years
LEOStar-3 [1] Civil/DefenceLEO3,000 kg/800W1–10 years
GEOStar-1National Security SpaceGEO150 kg/200W5–7 years
GEOStar-2 CommunicationsGEO500 kg/5.5 kW15–18 years
GEOStar-3 CommunicationsGEO800 kg/8.0 kW15–18 years
MicroStar-1ConstellationLEO15 kg/360W1–3 years
ESPAStar-1National Security SpaceLEO or GEO250 kg/500W1–5 years
ESPAStar-2National Security SpaceLEO or GEO1,080 kg/1.2 kW1–5 years
References: [2]

See also

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References

  1. LEOStar-3 Bus
  2. "Spacecraft Busses". OrbitalATK. Archived from the original on 6 September 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2016.

Further reading