Orbital Sciences launched its third Taurus booster from Vandenberg AFB, California, on 3 October, carrying the $90 million National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Space Technology Experiment (STEX) satellite. The STEX incorporates 29 new technologies, including a 5km-long Advanced Tether Experiment.
The Lockheed Martin-built 6,985kg STEX is designed to explore new commercial off-the-shelf technologies to enhance future space missions at a lower cost. It is the first of a planned series of missions by the NRO's Advanced Systems and Technology Directorate. The second is the GeoLite, built by TRW, which will be launched on a Delta 2 in 2001.
Other technologies on the STEX include an electric xenon ion propulsion module based on a Russian unit, a powerful solid-state data recorder, multifunctional solar cell arrays and high density nickel-hydrogen batteries.
Source: Flight International
