MUBLCOM

The Multiple Paths, Beyond-Line-of-Sight Communications (MUBLCOM) satellite, built for the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, was launched in May 1999 by a Pegasus. Its mission was to demonstrate a capability to provide space-based digital voice and data communications to combat forces or commercial users that were previously considered out of range of standard radio communications systems.

MUBLCOM
DART (bottom) approaching the MUBLCOM satellite (top)
Mission typeTechnology Demonstrator
OperatorDARPA
COSPAR ID1999-026B
SATCAT no.25736
Spacecraft properties
Launch mass100 kilograms (220 lb)
Dry mass50 kilograms (110 lb)
Start of mission
Launch dateMay 18, 1999 (1999-05-18)
RocketPegasus
Launch siteVandenberg
ContractorOrbital
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Eccentricity0.000384
Perigee altitude726 kilometers (451 mi)
Apogee altitude732 kilometers (455 mi)
Inclination97.7 degrees
Period99.4 minutes
 
DART (bottom) approaching the MUBLCOM satellite (top)

On April 15, 2005, the Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART) spacecraft collided with the MUBLCOM satellite while attempting to rendezvous with it.

References

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