On Friday, August 16, at 11:56 a.m. PDT, two CubeSats from NASA’s Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator, or PTD, series took off on SpaceX’s Transporter-11 rideshare mission from Vandenburg Space Force Base in California.
NASA’s attempts to evaluate new technologies and expand tiny spacecraft capabilities in order to influence space exploration and technology in the future will be aided by the two small satellites, PTD-4 and PTD-R.
While PTD-R will test simultaneous ultraviolet and short-wave infrared optical sensing from orbit using two 85-mm aperture monolithic telescopes mounted side by side, PTD-4 will showcase a high-power, low-volume deployable solar array with an integrated antenna. Triumph, a six-unit (6U) spacecraft shared by all PTD satellites, is utilized by the two CubeSats.
Launch of the two CubeSats for NASA was arranged by L2 Solutions DBA SEOPS LLC as part of an award on the agency’s VADR (Venture-class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare) contract. This is a part of an attempt to adopt more commercial procedures in order to reduce launch costs, which open up new possibilities for these tiny but incredibly powerful little satellites to find space travel.
These incredibly flexible contracts provide a perfect foundation for supporting NASA’s science research and technology development while also assisting in expanding access to space by lowering launch costs.