Perhaps this is outdated? It is from Aug 24, 2006. See the 3rd paragraph. Separation later in the 3 month mission. I watched the launch on the internet. In a real time simulation they showed the relase of Astro with NextSat still on top of it. If I remember well the commentator also said that first test were to performed with the sats still attteched, including the manipulator arm. Later on they would separate and dock again. No details on the timeline. On the following URL I found conformation for this. http://www.aiaa.org/aerospace/images/articleimages/pdf/AA_Feb07_WIL.pdf. The DARPA mission is expected to last three or four months, starting slowly with a few weeks of systems checks and some fluid transfers while the two satellites are still mated in their launch configuration. "Then we will use the arm, starting slow and working up to more complicated operations, to detach NextSat from ASTRO and eject the separation ring that will help us during the launch. Then we reattach, do another set of fluid transfers, then some battery and computer component replacements (the computer will be on ASTRO, then taken off, then put back on ASTRO, but never switched to NextSat)," Geery says. "Then we start unmated operations, again starting slow, backing away to 10 m, then remating, then gradually getting farther away, ultimately to a baseline of 7 km. But we have designed for cases up to 200 km, with autonomous guidance back to dock." Greetings and clear skies Leo Barhorst - Medemblik - The Netherlands Homepage: www.satlist.nl ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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