Location
Radisson Resort at the Port, Convention Center, Jamaica Room
Start Date
3-5-2001 1:00 PM
Description
During the 1960’s, it became apparent that the Department of Defense (DoD) needed to develop space systems technologies at a rapid rate. Furthermore, the DoD realized that in order to develop and deploy reliable space systems for operational use, they first must test them in space. At that time no organization or funds were readily available to provide timely spaceflight for experiments and demonstrations with military relevance. As a result, the Director of Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E) wrote a memorandum and created the DoD Space Test Program (STP) in 1966.1
The mission of STP is to protect US space superiority by demonstrating the most promising technologies for future operational requirements, thereby reducing the risk of future acquisition efforts. In the 34 years since its inception, STP has flown over 416 scientific experiments on more than 154 missions. The STP “legacy” is far reaching. Each day, the defense community uses some of the data or experience, which originated on an STP experiment, in an operational mission. STP has advanced space technologies in many fields including satellite design, operating systems, knowledge of the space environment, and launch systems. Missions flown by STP were at the forefront of navigation, surveillance, nuclear detection, communication, weather observation and ground radar calibration. Other STP payloads have collected data that furthered the knowledge of the space environment including radiation, composition, and solar effects.
But what can we expect from STP in the future? The answer is, we can expect more of the same. STP is using Space Command’s Long Range Plan (LRP) to identify the flavor of the next generation of operational space systems. Everyday, they are planning, manifesting, and launching experiments that will turn Space Command’s vision into reality.
Paper Session III-B - Continuing Legacy of the Space Test Program
Radisson Resort at the Port, Convention Center, Jamaica Room
During the 1960’s, it became apparent that the Department of Defense (DoD) needed to develop space systems technologies at a rapid rate. Furthermore, the DoD realized that in order to develop and deploy reliable space systems for operational use, they first must test them in space. At that time no organization or funds were readily available to provide timely spaceflight for experiments and demonstrations with military relevance. As a result, the Director of Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E) wrote a memorandum and created the DoD Space Test Program (STP) in 1966.1
The mission of STP is to protect US space superiority by demonstrating the most promising technologies for future operational requirements, thereby reducing the risk of future acquisition efforts. In the 34 years since its inception, STP has flown over 416 scientific experiments on more than 154 missions. The STP “legacy” is far reaching. Each day, the defense community uses some of the data or experience, which originated on an STP experiment, in an operational mission. STP has advanced space technologies in many fields including satellite design, operating systems, knowledge of the space environment, and launch systems. Missions flown by STP were at the forefront of navigation, surveillance, nuclear detection, communication, weather observation and ground radar calibration. Other STP payloads have collected data that furthered the knowledge of the space environment including radiation, composition, and solar effects.
But what can we expect from STP in the future? The answer is, we can expect more of the same. STP is using Space Command’s Long Range Plan (LRP) to identify the flavor of the next generation of operational space systems. Everyday, they are planning, manifesting, and launching experiments that will turn Space Command’s vision into reality.
