WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. -- The U.S. Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center and its mission partners successfully launched the Aerospace Rogue Alpha/Beta Cube Satellites, Nov. 2.
Lift-off occurred at 9:59 a.m. EDT from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The Cygnus capsule will dock with the International Space Station and the satellites will remain there until deployment in early 2020.
The Aerospace CubeSats have officially achieved their priority mission of developing a small low Earth orbit (LEO) constellation in just 18 months. The satellites will now collect data on cloud backgrounds to inform future LEO missions. The Air Force will also utilize this program’s data to investigate potential uses of the capability.
“The successful launch of the Aerospace CubeSats marks a huge achievement for SMC and its partners,” said Col. Dennis Bythewood, Program Executive Officer for Space Development. “This mission has set a precedent for speed and will also provide us with much needed data for future space development programs.”
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