Terrapin Agile Inspector Satellite

Millennium Space Systems will develop an Agile Inspector Satellite called Terrapin, which will produce a small Space Situational Awareness (SSA) system with over 6 Km/sec Delta-V providing significant orbital maneuverability. We bring significant innovations into this spacecraft design including the Busek BHT-600 Hall Effect Thruster electric engine using iodine gas propellant sublimated from highly dense solid iodine in a compact tank, the high performance MMA R-HaWK Solar Arrays carrying 33% efficient IMM solar cells, and Lawrence Livermores 35 cm Aperture Compact Monolith SSA sensor for performing the mission. For this SBIR, Millennium will work with subcontractors Busek and MMA Design to do trade studies on the propulsion, power, and spacecraft options and develop preliminary design-level satellite. In considering the Agile Inspector Satellite design, there is a significant trade to be done on spacecraft sizing. The smaller the spacecraft, the less expensive and easier to find a ride. However, the smaller the satellite, the smaller the payload carried. In addition, Solar-Electric Propulsion systems do not scale down effectively and lose efficiency affecting overall performance.