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DARPA Expands Contract with SpaceDev |
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POWAY, Calif., Aug. 25/Satnews Daily/ — The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded a small expansion to its existing contract with SpaceDev (OTCBB: SPDV) to examine satellite orbits that can be used to rapidly deploy and initialize microsatellites over precise geographical areas of interest.
Jim Benson, SpaceDev's founding chairman and CEO said the contract expansion is a validation of the company’s innovative approach to microsatellite mission and spacecraft design. "We are very pleased that our existing customers are providing us with additional opportunities to further develop SpaceDev concepts and technologies," he said.
Building upon results and methods developed from the previous study for DARPA of circular orbits, the expanded study will evaluate the orbital dynamics and associated mass budgets for deploying a constellation of satellites in elliptical orbits of interest. SpaceDev's existing contract with DARPA explored novel deployment schemes that use unique microsat dispenser concepts, new microsat propulsion, and possible microsat cluster space-tug concepts. Recent Stories: SpaceDev Reports Sixth Consecutive Quarter of Revenue Growth |
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