Standard Interface Vehicle

From WikiCover

In June 2007, AeroAstro, along with prime contractor Ball Aerospace, has successfully completed the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) for the DoD Space Test Program Standard Interface Vehicle (STP-SIV) program.

Ball Aerospace and AeroAstro were awarded the Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract in 2006, for up to six vehicles, with the first vehicle contract valued at $26M. AeroAstro is responsible for supplying the spacecraft bus as well as providing integration, launch and mission operation support. As prime contractor, Ball Aerospace is responsible for the overall system including the standard payload interface design, payload integration, space vehicle environmental testing, and launch and mission support.

The SIV PDR was a three-day review conducted February 27 - March 1 at AeroAstro. AeroAstro presented technical details and trade study results on every bus subsystem, and described operational modes and major interfaces. The PDR focused on the spacecraft's ability to meet the full range of performance requirements, as the SIV bus supports a wide range of LEO orbits and will be launched by a variety of launch vehicles including the recently- proven EELV Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA).

The STP-SIV spacecraft bus is derived largely from AeroAstro's STPSat-1 space vehicle, which launched successfully on the first ESPA on March 8th of this year. The innovative SIV design includes a separable Payload Standard Interface Module that may be integrated in parallel with the bus to support accelerated launch schedules and reduce technical risk.