MISSE-11

MISSE-12 is an external craft within the MISSE series aimed at testing various materials in the harsh environment of space. The crafts include ram, wake, zenith, and nadir exposures. (These are coordinate axes in the spacecraft-centered coordinate system.)

Craft Overview:

MISSE-12 was sent to the International Space Station (ISS) with three MISSE sample carriers (MSC’s). These are what house the different material samples which are to be tested in the vacuum of space. A total of 99 different samples were included aboard MISSE-11 to be tested. This increased the total number of MISSE samples to 349.

Results of the Mission:

The mission was a success. The ram and zenith MSC’s were returned to Earth aboard the SpaceX-20 Dragon capsule on April 7, 2020. The wake MSC was returned aboard the SpaceX-21 capsule on January 13, 2021.

Deployment:

MISSE-11 was taken to the ISS aboard Cygnus NG-11 on April 17, 2019. MISSE-11 was fastened onto the outside of the ISS on April 26, 2019. It was installed in the area known as the MISSE Flight Facility (MISSE-FF) near the ISS’s solar panels.

Sources and Additional Information:

  1. https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/space/iss-research/misse/#introduction
  2. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/features/misse-11.html
  3. https://spaceflight101.com/dragon-spx14/misse-ff/
AcronymMISSE-11
Full NameMaterials International Space Station Experiment – 11
Size12U
StatusInactive
Launch DateApril 17, 2019
Principal InvestigatorJud Ready

MISSE-12

MISSE-12 is an external craft within the MISSE series aimed at testing various materials in the harsh environment of space. The crafts include ram, wake, zenith, and nadir exposures. (These are coordinate axes in the spacecraft-centered coordinate system.)

Craft Overview:

MISSE-12 was sent to the International Space Station (ISS) carrying MISSE sample carriers (MSC’s). These are what house the different material samples which are to be tested in the vacuum of space. The MSC’s were deployed onto the ISS in either December 2019 or March 2020.

Results of the Mission:

The mission was a success. The MSC’s were returned to Earth aboard the SpaceX-21 mission on January 13, 2021.

Deployment:

MISSE-12 was taken to the ISS aboard Cygnus NG-12 on November 2, 2019. The MISSE-12 craft was fastened onto the outside of the ISS between December 2019 and March 2020. It was installed in the area known as the MISSE Flight Facility (MISSE-FF) near the ISS’s solar panels.

Sources and Additional Information:

  1. https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/space/iss-research/misse/#introduction
  2. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/features/misse-11.html
  3. https://spaceflight101.com/dragon-spx14/misse-ff/
AcronymMISSE-12
Full NameMaterials International Space Station Experiment – 12
Size12U
StatusInactive
Launch DateNovember 11, 2019
Principal InvestigatorJud Ready

PROX-1

The PROX-1 mission involves a large 9U cubesat produced by Professor Glenn Lightsey’s team at GTRI in the summer of 2019.

Craft Overview:

PROX-1 was tasked with deploying a separate, smaller cubesat from within, LightSail 2. LightSail 2 is a 3U cubesat which was a solar sail demonstration mission developed in part by the California Polytechnic State University. PROX-1’s mission was to orbit in close proximity of LightSail 2 and acquire images of its orbit.

Results of the Mission:

The mission is currently a success. PROX-1 is still in orbit and is imaging LightSail.

Deployment:

PROX-1 was successfully launched from Falcon Heavy on June 25, 2019 from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. This was the third launch of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.

Sources and Additional Information:

  1. https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/prox-1.htm
  2. https://ae.gatech.edu/news/2017/05/prox-1-launch-has-launched
  3. https://ae.gatech.edu/news/2019/06/aes-prox-1- satellite-launches-kennedy-space-center
  4. https://www.n2yo.com/satellite/?s=44339
AcronymProx-1
Full NameProx-1 (Nanosat 7)
Size9U
StatusActive
Launch DateJune 25, 2019
NORAD ID44339
Downlink Frequency437.xxx MHz
Principal InvestigatorGlenn Lightsey