The launch took place on August 16 from Vandenburg Space Force Base in California. The PTD-4 CubeSat will test a high-power, small-scale deployable solar array with integrated antennas, and the PTD-R will “pioneer simultaneous ultraviolet and shortwave infrared optical sensing” with two 85mm telescopes. Both CubeSats are built on the Triumph six-unit (6U) space platform common to all PTD missions.
The launch was performed by L2 Solutions under a NASA Enterprise-class Private and Vehicle Sharing (VADR) contract. Experts say such contracts are designed to reduce the barrier to access in space, giving small but advanced satellites like PTD-4 and PTD-R more opportunities to “do their part.”
Source: Ferra
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