Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL) has signed a contract with the Russian ISC Kosmotras company to launch its new Uosat 12 minisatellite aboard a modified SS-18 missile, renamed the Dnepr. The launch will be from Baikonur in 1999.
Kosmotras, a Russian/Ukrainian venture, is converting the SS-18 intercontinental ballistic missile into a booster able to launch payloads weighing up to 4,000kg to low earth orbit (LEO). Equipped with an additional upper stage, the Dnepr will be able to carry larger payloads or reach higher orbits.
SSTL, which has built and launched 14 microsatellites for international customers, has developed the experimental UoSAT 12 minisatellite to demonstrate advanced LEO communications and earth observation payloads. It carries propulsion, attitude control and navigation experiments.
The UK company and Kosmotras are working towards the establishment of a small satellite launch service using the Dnepr and aimed at the burgeoning small satellite industry.
SSTL has also won a contract from the European Space Agency to undertake a Lunar Orbiter Mission study. SSTL will work with the Technical University of Berlin and the Swedish Institute of Space Physics.
The SSTL-led Lunar Academic Research Satellite (Lunarsat) is the result of collaboration between students, engineers and scientists from 15 European countries which has resulted in the SSTL proposal for a mission to be launched in 2001, which could be the first European mission to the moon.
While previous lunar missions have focused on science and technology, Lunarsat will be aimed primarily as an education outreach to young people, stimulating interest in planetary exploration.
Source: Flight International
