DART Rendezvous with MUBLCOM

This is from sci.space.news. The launch date is subject to
change, but if the mission works it could give an interesting
sight. MUBLCOM is 99-026.

--Bill Thompson
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MISSION: Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART)

LAUNCH VEHICLE: Pegasus XL

LAUNCH SITE: Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

LAUNCH DATE: Oct. 26, 2004 NET

LAUNCH WINDOW: 11:13:32 a.m. - 11:20:32 a.m. PDT



Due to a failed pressure transducer on the DART upper stage, launch
aboard a Pegasus XL has been rescheduled to no earlier than Oct. 26.
The upper stage is necessary to deliver DART to its rendezvous point
and to conduct proximity operations with the Multiple Paths,
Beyond-Line-of-Site Communications (MUBLCOM) satellite. Three strain
gauges have been installed on the upper stage to derive hydrazine fuel
tank pressure. Verification testing is now under way to validate this
alternate method of monitoring. A final flight simulation is now
scheduled to be conducted on Oct. 7. Installation into the satellite of
the Advanced Video Guidance Sensor hardware, the primary technology
demonstration experiment, was completed Sept. 15 after arriving at
Vandenberg Sept. 12.

DART was designed and built for NASA by Orbital Sciences Corporation
as an advanced flight demonstrator to locate and maneuver near an
orbiting satellite. The DART spacecraft weighs about 800 pounds and is
nearly 6 feet long and 3 feet in diameter. The Orbital Sciences Pegasus
XL vehicle will launch DART into a circular polar orbit of approximately
475 miles.

The DART satellite provides a key step in establishing autonomous
rendezvous capabilities for the U.S. Space Program. While previous
rendezvous and docking efforts have been piloted by astronauts, the
unmanned DART satellite will have computers and cameras to perform its
rendezvous functions.

Once in orbit, DART will make contact with a target satellite, the
MUBLCOM, also built by Orbital Sciences and launched in 1999. DART will
then perform several close-proximity operations, such as moving toward
and away from the satellite using navigation data provided by on-board
sensors. The entire mission will last only 24 hours and will be
accomplished without human intervention. The DART flight computer
will determine its own path to accomplish its mission objectives.