SpaceDev has won a contract to develop a Space Shuttle-compatible propulsion module for the USAir Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).
The low-cost module - NASA Shuttle Hitchhiker Experiment Launch System (SHELS) - will place Hitchhiker satellites into orbit after deployment from the Space Shuttle, and provide orbit transfer for the Air Force Space Test Programme (STP). "No payload has ever been propulsively boosted to other orbits when deployed from SHELS, since existing technology does not meet safety or STP needs," says Ken Hampsten, programme manager for the AFRL's Space Vehicles Directorate contract with SpaceDev.
The firm expects to win the contract for phase two. Both phases are valued at $1.6 million.
Source: Flight International
