Mission: The primary mission of the FalconSAT 3 spacecraft is to measure the distribution of plasma bubbles in the upper ionosphere. These plasma bubbles cause communications upsets and GPS positioning errors - technologies critical to the US Air Force. When the primary mission is complete, FS3 may be put into amateur repeater mode and used by amateur radio operators.

Status: FalconSAT 3 is currently manifested to launch aboard a Lockheed Martin Atlas V as a secondary payload, mated to the ESPA (EELV Secondary Payload Adaptor) ring. The launch is scheduled for late the evening of 8 March 2007. The launch window is reported to be between 0237 and 0442 GMT, March 9 (9:37-11:42 p.m. EST, March 8). The launch was postponed from an 8 December 2006 launch date due to conflicts with the launch of STS-116, including several other delays.

SpaceQuest's Contribution: SpaceQuest is the primary avionics contractor for the FalconSAT 3 mission. The following Spacecraft products are implemented in the FalconSAT 3 bus:

• Battery Charge Regulator (BCR)
• 4 x 2-Axis Digital Sun Sensors
• Analog-to-Digital Telemetry Board (ADC-64)
• Flight Batteries (BAT-4)
• Integrated Flight Computer (IFC-1000)
• RAM Board (FM-32)
• 3-Axis Magnetometer (MAG-3)
• Micro Torque Rods (TQR-X)
• 3-Channel Torquer Control Electronics (TCE-3)
• Triple Junction, GaAs Solar Panels

External Links:

• FalconSat 3 at Wikipedia