MUBLCOM | |
Mission Type: | Technology Demonstrator |
Operator: | DARPA |
Cospar Id: | 1999-026B |
Satcat: | 25736 |
Dry Mass: | 50kg (110lb) |
Launch Mass: | 100kg (200lb) |
Launch Rocket: | Pegasus |
Launch Site: | Vandenberg |
Launch Contractor: | Orbital |
Orbit Reference: | Geocentric |
Orbit Regime: | Low Earth |
Orbit Periapsis: | 726km (451miles) |
Orbit Apoapsis: | 732km (455miles) |
Orbit Inclination: | 97.7 degrees |
Orbit Eccentricity: | 0.000384 |
Orbit Period: | 99.4 minutes |
Apsis: | gee |
The Multiple Paths, Beyond-Line-of-Sight Communications (MUBLCOM) satellite (COSPAR 1999-026B, SATCAT 25736), built for the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, was launched in May 1999 by a Pegasus. Its mission was to demonstrate a capability to provide space-based digital voice and data communications to combat forces or commercial users that were previously considered out of range of standard radio communications systems.
On April 15, 2005, the Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART) spacecraft collided with the MUBLCOM satellite while attempting to rendezvous with it.