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Trailblazer (satellite)

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by WDGraham (talk | contribs) at 01:23, 16 December 2013 (recategorise, genfixes, replaced: Category:2008 in spaceflightCategory:Spacecraft launched in 2008 using AWB). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Trailblazer
Mission typeTechnology
OperatorUS Air Force
MDA
COSPAR IDvalue no value Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.noneEdit this on Wikidata
Mission durationFailed to orbit
Spacecraft properties
BusMMB-100
ManufacturerSpaceDev
Start of mission
Launch date3 August 2008, 03:34 (2008-08-03UTC03:34) UTC
RocketFalcon 1
Launch siteOmelek
ContractorSpaceX
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
EpochPlanned

Trailblazer was a technology demonstration satellite, which was to have been operated by the United States Air Force and the Missile Defense Agency. It was selected for launch under a "Jumpstart" contract, to demonstrate responsiveness, with the final payload being chosen less than a month ahead of the scheduled launch date, and was launched as the primary payload of the third Falcon 1, which failed just over two minutes after launch on 3 August 2008. Two previous Falcon 1 launches also failed to reach orbit, but the fourth succeeded although it only carried a dummy payload.

It was originally built for a cancelled MDA project, and was based on a SpaceDev MMB-100 satellite bus. It was launched from Omelek Island, at 03:34 GMT. Several other payloads were to be launched aboard the same rocket, including two CubeSats for NASA, and a space burial payload for Celestis, which would have remained attached to the rocket in low Earth orbit.

References