SURVEILLANCE SATELLITE (S-SAT)

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO PROVIDE AN ALMOST INSTANTANEOUS SPACE SURVEILLANCE CAPABILITY TO COVER A CERTAIN SPOT ON EARTH WHICH IS OF INTEREST TO THE MILITARY. THE CONCEPT IS TO USE SMALL, LOWCOST SPACECRAFT WHICH CAN SIMPLY BE STORED AND THEN LAUNCHED BY AIRCRAFT WITHIN 10 TO 20 HOURS INTO LOW-EARTH INTEGER (OR NEAR) ORBITS AT ANY INCLINATION. A SIMPLE TELESCOPE (OPTICAL AND/OR IR) IS PLANNED AS A PAYLOAD. IMAGES WILL BE SENT IN REAL TIME TO THE GROUND FORCES FOR THEIR IMMEDIATE USE. A MOTOR VEHICLE (VAN) WITH A PARABOLIC DISH WOULD SERVE AS A GROUND RECEIVING/CONTROL STATION. THE SPACECRAFT COULD BE CONSIDERED AS A "THROW AWAY" TYPE SYSTEM. THE PEGASUS IS PLANNED TO BE USED AS A LAUNCH VEHICLE. MORE THAN ONE SPACECRAFT WILL BE NEEDED DEPENDING ON THE NUMBER OF OBSERVATIONS PER DAY REQUIRED. IN ADDITION, IF ONE SHOULD FAIL, ANOTHER COULD BE LAUNCHED A SHORT TIME THEREAFTER. THIS ALSO REQUIRES THAT MORE THAN ONE AIRCRAFT (SIMILAR TO THE B-52, 0008) WOULD HAVE TO BE EQUIPPED WITH A PEGASUS-TYPE LAUNCH SYSTEM. THE PEGASUS IS ABLE TO LAUNCH A SPACECRAFT OF ABOUT 1 M IN DIAMETER AND 1.7 M IN HEIGHT, HAVING A MASS OF ABOUT 150 KG INTO A 900 KM POLAR OR 220 KG INTO A 900 KM EQUATORIAL ORBIT.