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CSA Engineering provides innovative solutions to meet customers' needs in vibration, precision motion and noise control. Their systems approach to engineering development is backed by expertise in a range of technical specialties. In addition to its Mountain View, CA headquarters, CSA Engineering operates offices in Albuquerque, NM, and Lacey's Spring, Alabama.
SMC identified large unused payload margins on the majority of the DoD's EELV (Delta IV and Atlas V) manifests. By taking advantage of this existing unused payload margin, ESPA will increase access to space for small satellites and space experiments, and by sharing mission integration and launch expenses, the cost of space access can be dramatically reduced. ESPA mounts one primary spacecraft and up to six secondary spacecraft on a Delta IV or Atlas V launch vehicle. The first flight of the ESPA will be in early fiscal year 2006 on the STP-1 Mission, launched on a Delta IV medium. The primary payload on this mission is Orbital Express. The success of this mission will ensure the availability of a secondary payload capability on the EELV class of launch vehicles.
Researchers expect the SBIR supported ESPA adapter technologies to have a tremendous impact on future spacecraft programs by increasing the number of secondary payload launch opportunities available at a reasonable cost. Researchers anticipate current AFRL development efforts will help pave the way to changing the launch paradigm by providing small satellite launch opportunities at a reasonable cost and on a regular schedule, thus allowing for the full utilization of small satellite technology within the U.S.
Conor Johnson
CSA Engineering
2565 Leghorn Street
Mountain View, CA 94043-1613
Phone: (650) 210-9000
Website: http://www.csaengineering.com/
Email: cjohnson@csaengineering.com
