The Space Technology Research Vehicle (STRV)-1 program

The Space Technology Research Vehicle (STRV)-1 program, initiated by the UK Ministry of Defence and the US Ballistic Missile Defense Organization under terms of an agreement originally signed by President Reagan and Prime Minister Thatcher, has resulted in new opportunities for researchers to acquire low-cost on-orbit data. The STRV-1 a/b satellites were launched into a geotransfer orbit (GTO) on June 1994, and continued operation until the mission was terminated in September, 1998. Data returned from the on-board experiments has provided new insights into the nature of the terrestrial radiation belts and the effects of this radiation on critical spacecraft materials and components. The flexibility of the on-board computer also enabled successful demonstration of new space communication protocol standards. Transfer of day-to-day satellite operations from the Defence Evaluation & Research Agency to the University of Colorado clearly showed that spacecraft conforming to CCSDS standard protocols can be rapidly cross-supported across an international boundary. The next satellites in the STRV-1 program, STRV-1 c/d, will carry 21 hardware experiments sponsored by the US, UK, Canada, and ESA, and will provide on-board computing capability for conducting three software experiments. Launch into GTO in the latter part of 2000 will result in exposure of all satellite systems and experiments to increasing solar activity and its resulting influence on Van Alien belt radiation fluence.