CHIPSat Launch Update

As previously communicated, the CHIPSat launch scheduled for Thursday, December 19, 2002 on a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California has been delayed and is now targeted for January 10th, 11th or 12th.  These dates are based on the success of another launch scheduled for January 8th, 9th or 10th. 

The current launch window for CHIPSat is as follows: 

• If the other launch is successful on January 8th, then that allows CHIPSat launch attempts on January 10th, 11th and 12th. 
• If the other launch is successful on January 9th or 10th, then that allows CHIPSat launch attempts on January 11th and 12th. 

Please note that these new dates represent SpaceDev’s best understanding of the launch schedule affecting CHIPSat operations and do not represent an official NASA or USAF launch schedule.

The CHIPS (Cosmic Hot Interstellar Plasma Spectrometer) Spacecraft is a sophisticated, high performance 45 kg microsatellite designed and built by SpaceDev for the University of California, Berkeley under a NASA-funded contract.  The CHIPS mission is designed to study the formation of stars, and will have a life span of about one year. 

CHIPSat will be the first mission ever to use end-to-end satellite operations over the internet with TCP/IP and FTP.  This concept was analyzed and demonstrated by the NASA OMNI team via UoSat-12; however, SpaceDev will be the first to implement the concept as the only means of satellite communications.

SpaceDev has overall responsibility for the design of the mission, the design, assembly, integration and testing of the microsatellite, and mission control and operations from SpaceDev’s Mission Control Center.

If there are further delays we will send out an update as soon as possible.