In partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Space Systems Laboratory (SSL), AeroAstro will develop a lightweight, inexpensive, low-power star tracker for small satellites, under contract to the Missile Defense Agency (contractual support through the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division). AeroAstro is already planning to leverage each of these technology development efforts to the benefit of several on-going and upcoming satellite programs.

Today's star trackers are too massive, expensive, and power hungry to appropriately serve small maneuverable satellites. However, lower-impact technologies, such as sun sensors, do not offer the flexibility and performance required for advanced mission profiles.

AeroAstro and the MIT SSL are developing a star tracker to better serve the needs of small satellites by using CMOS technology and innovative optics, balancing accuracy with power consumption, mass, and cost.

AeroAstro, in partnership with the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), is developing a compact, highly versatile avionics core with a design that can be used across a wide variety of small satellite designs, focusing on short-duration missions, with a low recurring cost.

While varying applications require unique spacecraft solutions, there are many similarities in basic avionics requirements that can be leveraged for a significant overall cost savings. This project aims to eliminate reliance on mission-specific buses, but without incurring the costs inherent in the universal bus approach.

Dr. Rick Fleeter, AeroAstro's President and CEO, said, "Winning these STTR technology development contracts demonstrates AeroAstro's ability to work closely with universities and other research organizations to develop innovative technologies for next-generation space applications.

"It is already clear that these technologies have strong commercial potential, as demonstrated by their rapid incorporation into spacecraft programs, such as the SHERPA space tug, currently in early stages of development at AeroAstro."

Along with the Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate (AFRL/VSSV) and other key Air Force funded technologies, AeroAstro is developing SHERPA (SHuttle Expendable Rocket for Payload Augmentation), a lightweight, modular, and reliable orbit transfer system for Shuttle Hitchhiker Experiment Launch System (SHELS) launched assets.

SHERPA will perform multiple orbit changes, station-keeping, and/or deorbiting. AeroAstro's role in this program is as the spacecraft designer/builder and prime integrator for all necessary technologies, leveraging several other AeroAstro developments. The star tracker and integrated avionics module are key technologies currently baselined on the SHERPA vehicle.

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