Mission

Starfield

Starfield, January 2023
Starfield Mission Booklet

Mission Updates

3. 2. 1.

UPDATE 3

February 2nd, 2023

Demonstration of NEA® Payload Release Ring (PRR) by EBAD

ION SCV009 Eclectic Elena successfully activated the NEA® Payload Release Ring (PRR), a device that utilizes the flight-proven technology of the proprietary EBAD’s NEA® hold down release mechanism to release payloads/spacecraft from a launch vehicle or Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV).

The demonstration was completed with the release of a payload from the OTV.
Image: NEA® Payload Release Ring (PRR), by EBADNEA® Payload Release Ring (PRR), by EBAD

UPDATE 2

February 7th, 2023

Activation of Bunny, a hosted payload by EPFL

D-Orbit’s mission team conducted the first test on Bunny, a CubeSat onboard computer developed by the EPFL Spacecraft Team that will be validated on a mid-inclination orbit to evaluate its performance in space. The payload is a part of the CHESS project, which aims at studying the chemical composition and changes in Earth's atmosphere over time.

Bunny has been correctly activated and is functioning properly.

Image: BunnyBunny

UPDATE 1

January 31st, 2023

Launch

Starfield, the eight mission of the ION Satellite Carrier (ION), launched on January 31, 2023, at 08:15 a.m. PST (16:15 UTC), aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from the Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. After 57 minutes, ION SCV009 ECLECTIC ELENA was successfully deployed into a mid-inclination orbit of approximately 340km altitude and 70 degree inclination, a first time for D-Orbit.

For the Starfield mission, ION SCV009 Eclectic Elena features onboard a total of four payloads coming from third parties, including the US Company EBAD, the Spacecraft Team of the Swiss Institute EPFL, the Munich-based space company HPS and the New Zealand-based company StardustMe.
Image: Credits: SpaceXCredits: SpaceX

Roadmap

PHASE 1 - COMMISSIONING

As soon as ION SCV009 Eclectic Elena reaches orbit, our spacecraft operations engineers establish a bidirectional communication channel. We then start the launch and early orbit phase (LEOP), neutralizing the rotation imparted by the launch vehicle during separation, correcting the attitude, testing the satellites' subsystems, and preparing for the next phases.

PHASE 2 - COMMERCIAL PHASE, HOSTED PAYLOAD DEMONSTRATION

Once concluded the commissioning phase, ION SCV009 Eclectic Elena will start the commercial phase of the mission, which will consist of the in-orbit demonstration (IOD) of third-party payloads hosted onboard: NEA® Payload Release Ring by the US Company EBAD; Bunny, an onboard computer developed by the Spacecraft Team of the Swiss Institute EPFL; SD-1, a memorial payload by the New Zealand company StardustMe; and ADEO-N3, an autonomous drag sail developed by the Munich-based space company HPS.

In order to comply with the precise operational orbital slots required by customers, ION 009 will perform a series of complex orbital maneuvers.

PHASE 3 - DECOMMISSIONING

At the end of the mission planned 8 months after the launch, ADEO-N3 sail will be deployed and the End of Life phase begins, the spacecraft is decommissioned in compliance with the Space Debris Mitigation guidelines. The pressure vessels are depleted from leftover fuel and oxidizer and the spacecraft enter a decommissioning trajectory that will bring them to burn up upon atmospheric re-entry within a few years.

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