Cyclops: the Space Station Integrated Kinetic Launcher for Orbital Payload Systems (SSIKLOPS)

  • Magazine Article
  • TBMG-24258
Published April 01, 2016 by Tech Briefs Media Group in United States
Language:
  • English

The Space Station Integrated Kinetic Launcher for Orbital Payload Systems (SSIKLOPS), also known as “Cyclops,” deployed the largest satellite ever from the International Space Station (ISS) on November 28, 2014. The satellite, SpinSat, a Naval Research Laboratory (NRL)/Department of Defense Space Test Program (DoD STP) satellite, is pioneering the utilization of electronically controlled solid propellant thrusters as well as acquiring vital atmospheric density data. It is a spherical satellite 22 inches in diameter, weighing 115 pounds, and will remain in orbit for over two years.