STPSat-3, photo courtesy of Ball Aerospace

...fly aboard the STPSat-3 spacecraft when it launches from Wallops Island, Virginia, in mid-2013. The Joint Component Research (J-CORE) instrument is a space electronics component payload sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC). STPSat-3 is part of the Department of Defense, Space Test Program, Standard Interface Vehicle (STP-SIV) program, managed by the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, Space Development & Test Directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The STPSat-3 bus was built in 47 days using a common spacecraft and features standard payload interfaces designed to support a variety of experimental and risk reduction payloads at various low-Earth orbits. The STPSat-3 is Ball's second spacecraft for the STP-SIV program. The first, STPSat-2, was launched November 19, 2010, and continues operational support for launched payloads. The Ball Configurable Platform-100 (BCP-100) is flight proven for STP-SIV as well as other Ball Aerospace programs. Under contract to NASA, Ball will next employ the BCP-100 for the technology demonstration Green Propellant Infusion Mission.