A Low-Cost Airborne Surrogate Test Satellite for Space Control Network Ground Station Testing

Abstract

The United States Air Force test Pilot School (USAF TPS), in partnership with The Aerospace Corporation, executed the first ever test of an airborne spacecraft surrogate using the United State Space Force (USSF) Satellite Control Network (SCN) in March 2021. The test was executed as a USAF TPS Test Management project (TMP), under the name HAVE TACOS (Test And Check Out Satellite). The spacecraft surrogate was a prototype of the Satellite Control Network On-Orbit Test Asset (SPHINX). The SPHINX payload was designed and developed by The Aerospace Corporation to provide SCN users with an on-orbit test asset dedicated to the verification of SCN ground station requirements. The SPHINX payload was integrated into a C-12J from the 586 Flight Test Squadron from Holloman Air Force Base (AFB). All testing was executed at Vandenberg AFB using the Vandenberg Tracking Station (VTS). The overall objective of the test was to demonstrate the SPHINX payload's utility as an airborne surrogate for ground station testing. There were two General Test Objectives (GTOs) for the test: demonstrate the SPHINX payload functionality and demonstrate the SPHINX payload's utility for ground station testing. The overall test objective and GTOs were met. Data collected from the test provided The Aerospace Corporation with critical insights into the SPHINX payload's performance in an “operational” environment, Also, the integrated test team collected many lessons learned being the first to test an airborne spacecraft surrogate integrated into the USSF SCN. The use of an airborne spacecraft surrogate provides USSF leadership and spacecraft manufactures with a cost-effective and efficient method to test proposed spaceflight hardware prior to design cutoffs.