Small Payload Quick Return (SPQR) is a
NASA Ames Research Center concept to return small
payload
Payload is the object or the entity which is being carried by an aircraft or launch vehicle. Sometimes payload also refers to the carrying capacity of an aircraft or launch vehicle, usually measured in terms of weight. Depending on the nature of ...
s from orbit.
The system uses an
Exo-Brake, a parachute-like drag device for use in the low-pressure
exosphere
The exosphere ( grc, ἔξω "outside, external, beyond", grc, σφαῖρα "sphere") is a thin, atmosphere-like volume surrounding a planet or natural satellite where molecules are gravitationally bound to that body, but where the densit ...
of
Low Earth Orbit
A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never mor ...
. This is the first part of a three part return system, operating from 350 to 100 km.
Exo-Brake
The first test of the Exo-Brake system from orbit began with the launching of the
TechEdSat-3p nano-satellite from the
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...
on November 19, 2013.
[''Exo-Brake Parachute Launched From International Space Station'' by Keith Cowling, SpaceRef, Nov 201]
/ref>
TechEdSat-4 is expected to test an Exo-Brake with variable drag in 2014.[
TechEdSat-3p took over 60 days to deorbit, while TechEdSat-4 reentered in about 30 days.
A newer Exo-Brake system was tested on TechEdSat-5, deployed from the ISS in 2017.][
]
SOAREX Flights
Several investigations related to the SPQR programs and TechEdSat have been flown on Sub-Orbital Aerodynamic Re-entry Experiments (SOAREX) sounding rockets flights.
SOAREX-6 flew 27 November 2008 on an ATK Sub-orbital/Orion 50xl sounding rocket.
SOAREX-7 flew 28 May 2009 aboard a Terrier-Orion sounding rocket launched from Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) in Virginia. A TDRV (Tube Deployed Re-entry Vehicle) was successfully tested after the flight reached its apogee of 134 km.
On SOAREX-8, which launched on a Terrier Black-Brant suborbital sounding rocket, a wireless sensor module, a camera, various communication devices, and a full Exo-Brake were tested.
On SOAREX-9, a wireless sensor module, a camera, and various communication devices were tested.
References
Spaceflight
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