14 DAY TRIAL // In recent times, more and more of the organizations, companies and groups involved in satellite launches have begun turning their attention to nanosatellite, which are very small counterparts to the larger, school bus-sized ones. Due to advancements in miniaturization technologies, these spacecrafts can perform roughly the same tasks as the large ones. The Multipurpose Nanomissile (MPNM) system is a US military concept aimed at launching several of these tiny satellites in space at once, aboard a modular, highly-versatile delivery system.
The MPNM system was developed by the Huntsville, Alabama-based Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC). The basic idea was the development of a modular, liquid-fueled core booster, whose performances could be augmented by adding solid boosters in various configurations. The concept was devised for the US Army, which is looking to acquire the ability to deploy numerous small satellites in orbit at the same time, using inexpensive launch vehicles. Officials with the Army are also looking for methods to avoid paying the multi-million dollar price tags associated with launching larger rockets, Space reports.
“The interest we have in the orbital part is that these nanosatellites we're building have price points that are between $300,000 and $1 million per satellite,. One of the reasons we like satellites of this class is we can afford to put a lot of them up there to where the entire constellation is still relatively inexpensive. If one satellite up there fails, and I need to replace it with a $300,000 satellite in a very specific orbit, and the lowest cost launch vehicle out there is at least 30 to 50 times the cost of that spacecraft, that won't work,” says the manager for nanosatellite technology programs at the SMDC, John London.
The approach would also provide a new use for the large number of aging tactical solid-rocket motors that the US still has available. Attaching them to the liquid-fueled core, to produce launch configurations that can take satellites to very specific orbits, would provide additional boost, while keeping costs down. Unlike the US Air Force (USAF), which develops extremely expensive and sophisticated satellites, the Army is looking for bulk numbers, versatility, and the ability to deploy entire constellations at once.