The Aquarius, a proposal for a nano-satellites launcher vehicle
- Paper number
IAC-06-B5.5.07
- Author
Dr. Julian Simon, Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aerospacial (INTA), Spain
- Year
2006
- Abstract
The proposed vehicle is dedicated to put a nano-satellite of 14 kg into a circular polar orbit of 400 km height. This vehicle would have an initial mass of 1000 kg and would be launched from a conventional fighter aircraft such as the F-18 or EF-2000. The system would be propelled by three solid rocket motors, the first two controlled by TVC nozzles and the third is spin stabilised. Details and performances of the system are presented, based on rigorous calculations that have been made taken existing motors and subsystems as reference. The final satellite orbits for different launch parameters, such as satellite mass, aircraft altitude and velocity release conditions are also studied. The mean satellite life time and orbit dispersion are calculated by a Montecarlo method.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-06-B5.5.07.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.