{"id":17625,"date":"2020-11-12T22:38:48","date_gmt":"2020-11-12T14:38:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/spaceflight-inc-fills-out-its-line-of-sherpa-orbital-transfer-vehicles-for-small-satellites\/"},"modified":"2020-11-12T22:38:48","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T14:38:48","slug":"spaceflight-inc-fills-out-its-line-of-sherpa-orbital-transfer-vehicles-for-small-satellites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/spaceflight-inc-fills-out-its-line-of-sherpa-orbital-transfer-vehicles-for-small-satellites\/","title":{"rendered":"Spaceflight Inc. fills out its line of Sherpa orbital transfer vehicles for small satellites"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_591788\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-591788\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-591788\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/201112-sherpa1-630x412.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"630\" height=\"412\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/201112-sherpa1-630x412.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/201112-sherpa1-1260x824.jpg 1260w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/201112-sherpa1-768x502.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/201112-sherpa1-1536x1005.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/201112-sherpa1-2048x1339.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-591788\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An artist\u2019s conception shows Spaceflight\u2019s Sherpa-FX in orbit. (Spaceflight Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Seattle-based Spaceflight Inc. today unveiled two new options for its Sherpa orbital transfer vehicle \u2014 one that uses an environmentally friendly chemical thruster system to help get small satellites where they need to go, and another that\u2019s powered by an electric propulsion system.<\/p>\n<p>Such options add propulsive capability to the standard Sherpa-FX model, which is due to make its first flight as a secondary payload for a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch by as early as December.<\/p>\n<p>For years, Spaceflight has served as a broker and concierge for other people\u2019s payloads \u2014 basically bundling small satellites for launch on rockets ranging from the Falcon 9 to Rocket Lab\u2019s Electron and India\u2019s PSLV.<\/p>\n<p>The company hit a significant milestone in 2018 when it arranged for the launch of 64 satellites on a single Falcon 9. During that mission, a pair of free-flying spacecraft served as deployment platforms.<\/p>\n<p>That blazed a trail for the Sherpa program, and the effort got an extra boost this year after Spaceflight Inc.\u2019s acquisition by Japan\u2019s Mitsui &amp; Co.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cReally, the next step in building out this cislunar space transportation company that we care to become is the Sherpa program,\u201d Grant Bonin, Spaceflight\u2019s senior vice president of business development, told GeekWire. \u201cSherpa was an early vision of the company, but we really revived it this year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Inside look: Spaceflight Sherpa-FX\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/deJosbj0Np4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The heart of the Sherpa spacecraft is a hexagonal chassis to which a variety of satellites and satellite deployers can be attached. There\u2019s also a telemetry system that can relay satellite data down to the ground via GlobalStar.<\/p>\n<p>During the upcoming flight, which Spaceflight calls the SXRS-3 mission, the Sherpa-FX will be sent out from the Falcon 9\u2019s second stage to fly freely in its own orbit for satellite deployment.<\/p>\n<p>Spaceflight plans to put more than a dozen spacecraft into orbit from its first Sherpa-FX. There\u2019ll also be piggyback payloads that stay on board, including capsules that contain funerary ashes for Celestis\u2019 memorial spaceflight program.<\/p>\n<p>Bonin noted that the Sherpa-FX is merely the basic model.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe flashy parts of this are that, in addition to being a mothership for small spacecraft, now we can start to incorporate propulsion,\u201d Bonin said. \u201cAnd not just middle-of-the-road propulsion \u2026 but propulsion systems that really attack the key use cases that we see being expressed by our customers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Sherpa-LTC and Sherpa-LTE round out Spaceflight\u2019s product line for orbital transfer vehicles.<\/p>\n<p>Sherpa-LTC\u2019s high-thrust green propulsion subsystem, provided by Benchmark Space Systems, makes use of chemical propellants to offer a \u201cgo-fast\u201d solution for operators who need their satellites deployed into a specified orbit within a matter of minutes, Bonin said. The first Sherpa-LTC is due to fly in the second half of 2021.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast, Sherpa-LTE\u2019s electric propulsion system takes advantage of radiation-hardened Hall thrusters developed by Apollo Fusion. Fueled by xenon propellant, the system can send payloads to different orbital planes, geosynchronous orbit or even beyond Earth orbit. \u201cWe call that the go-far solution,\u201d Bonin said.<\/p>\n<p>Sherpa-LTE is due to make its first flight in mid-2021.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_591790\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-591790\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-591790\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/201112-sherpa-trio-630x187.png\" alt=\"Sherpa variants\" width=\"630\" height=\"187\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/201112-sherpa-trio-630x187.png 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/201112-sherpa-trio-1260x374.png 1260w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/201112-sherpa-trio-768x228.png 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/201112-sherpa-trio-1536x456.png 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/201112-sherpa-trio.png 1584w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-591790\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Spaceflight offers three options for its Sherpa orbital transfer vehicle. Sherpa-FX doesn\u2019t use a propulsion system; Sherpa-LTC has a conventional chemical propulsion system; and Sherpa-LTE has an electric propulsion system (Spaceflight Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Jeff Roberts, Spaceflight\u2019s senior director of mission management, said his company aims to fly about six Sherpa vehicles per year, including at least one of each variant. \u201cWe don\u2019t know how many of each,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s actually one of the great things about this: We don\u2019t need to know this far out, because it\u2019s the same chassis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roberts said the beauty of the Sherpa system is that components can be switched around quickly to accommodate the different propulsion systems. And if launch schedules change, the entire spacecraft is easily transferable from one rocket to another. He compared the Sherpa\u2019s versatility to the functions of a Swiss Army knife \u2014 or a Gerber multi-tool, for those too young to remember Swiss Army knives.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur goal is to get our customers\u2019 spacecraft delivered to orbit exactly where and when they want it, all the way to their final destination \u2014 that last leg of the journey,\u201d Bonin said in a news release. \u201cOur new Sherpa OTVs enable us to provide that in-space delivery service while keeping costs low and timelines short.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Spaceflight isn\u2019t the only company betting on orbital transfer vehicles. Momentus Space made a splash in March when it announced a plan to offer such services on six SpaceX satellite rideshare missions. Firefly Aerospace, D-Orbit and Exolaunch are also moving into the market. But with more than 300 satellite deployments under its belt, Spaceflight is counting on Sherpa to keep blazing the trail.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are excited to build on our 10 years of launch experience learnings to develop these new advanced vehicles, which will provide even more flexible launch options and customized orbital delivery for our customers,\u201d said Curt Blake, Spaceflight\u2019s president and CEO.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An artist\u2019s conception shows Spaceflight\u2019s Sherpa-FX in orbit. (Spaceflight Illustration) Seattle-based Spaceflight Inc. today unveiled two new options for its Sherpa orbital transfer vehicle \u2014 one that uses an environmentally friendly chemical thruster system to help get small satellites where they need to go, and another that\u2019s powered by an electric propulsion system. Such options [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1208,20,442,4560,2340],"class_list":["post-17625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-rideshare","tag-satellite","tag-satellites","tag-sherpa","tag-spaceflight"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17625"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17625\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}