THE CARRIER KAP@FREGAT FOR TECHNOLOGY IN-ORBIT DEMONSTRATION AND LOW-GRAVITY RESEARCH USING THE FREGAT UPPER STAGE

摘要

The success of the Kayser-Threde test satellite MAQSAT-B2 on Ariane L521 in February 2005 (2nd Ariane 5 ECA qualification flight) and its instrument platform equipped with experiments, sensors and an autonomous telemetry system has led to the development of a new autonomous experiment platform called KAP. KAP stands for Kayser-Threde Auxiliary Platform carrier and is a direct spin-off product out of Kayser-Threde Ariane 5 post projects and experience. The main idea is to use the available remaining payload capacity of the launcher to provide a flexible and low-cost test facility for scientific experiments and In-Orbit Demonstration of new technologies remaining attached to the launcher upper stage. KAP is a fully autonomous kit providing the complete necessary infrastructure (power, data acquisition and telemetry) to minimize constraints and interactions with the launch vehicle, increasing significantly the possibility for regular flight opportunities.