PacSci EMC Completes Successful Launch of Company-Owned Demonstrator Satellite
June 23 2017 - 12:41AM
Business Wire
Launch of PACSCISAT seeks to establish flight
heritage for new technologies used in all phases of commercial
space flight
PacSci EMC has successfully launched its own on-orbit technology
demonstrator satellite, PACSCISAT. The company will conduct payload
tests to prove the performance of several of its commercial space
technologies once the satellite is commissioned and in orbit. The
mission was undertaken to give the company’s customers additional
assurance and confidence that an electronic controller and
propulsion system perform as specified in the harsh space
environment where reliability, precision and control are paramount.
PacSci EMC self-funded PACSCISAT to establish flight heritage, or
flight-proven history, for these products.
PACSCISAT was launched on June 22, 2017 on the Polar Satellite
Launch Vehicle flight C38 (PSLV-C38) from the Satish Dhawan Space
Centre in India. The satellite is equipped with two fully
operational Smart Energetics Architecture (SEA™) controllers, four
Modular Architecture Propulsion System (MAPS™) rocket motors, two
Smart Initiators and two space standard initiators
(103377-500).
“Undertaking this launch is a first for our company. Our
customers already know they can depend on our technology, but
PACSCISAT will answer the question, ‘has this hardware flown in
space before?’ and highlights our commitment to our investment in
NewSpace,” said Greg Scaven, PacSci EMC’s president. “Our customers
don’t have to take on the risk of using a supplier that does not
have flight heritage – we will have done that for them.”
After a two-week satellite commissioning period once the
satellite is in orbit, PacSci will conduct payload tests using the
SEA controllers to fire the initiators and MAPS rocket motors. MAPS
is a solid, clean-burning propellant array of rocket motors, which
were fired in pairs to maneuver the satellite.
SEA Technology is capable of precisely actuating hundreds of
devices on launch vehicles and satellites while taking up very
little volume, mass or power. It can actuate launch vehicle rocket
motors, stage separation systems, release devices and deploy
satellites into space. On satellites and space vehicles, SEA
Technology can deploy solar arrays, scientific instruments and many
other devices, and can use either pyrotechnic or non-explosive,
motorized actuators in any combination needed. SEA is also at the
heart of MAPS.
PacSci EMC products are used in all phases of vehicle flight
beginning with ground-based operations through lift-off/boost,
solid rocket booster jettison, payload fairing separation, booster
separation, second stage flight, payload separation and flight
termination.
ABOUT PACIFIC SCIENTIFIC ENERGETIC MATERIALS COMPANY LLC
(PacSci EMC):
PacSci EMC makes critical missions possible. Throughout the
product lifecycle, our employees solve the toughest technical
challenges with a dedication to Safety First, Quality Every Time™.
We enable success for innumerable missions on a daily basis,
impacting the lives of military personnel, law enforcement
officers, commercial airline pilots, astronauts, and oil field
operators. For nearly a century, PacSci EMC’s experience and
expertise has been relied upon in the times When Milliseconds
Matter™.
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Pacific Scientific Energetic Materials Company (PacSci EMC)Steve
Nelson, 661-917-2947snelson@psemc.com