Space Systems Command Launches Eight Experimental Payloads to NASA's ISS for DoD STP-H9 Mission
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Space Systems Command Launches Eight Experimental Payloads to NASA’s ISS for DoD STP-H9 Mission

STP-H9 Mission- Space Systems Command, in collaboration with NASA, has successfully launched the Space Test Program-Houston 9 (STP-H9) mission, transporting eight experimental payloads from DoD’s Space Test Program to NASA’s International Space Station (ISS).

The Space Test Program-Houston 9 (STP-H9) mission containing eight DoD Space Test Program
(STP) experimental payloads is on its way to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a
Cargo Dragon spacecraft on the SpaceX’s Commercial Resupply Service (CRS)-27. The Dragon
will dock to the ISS on March 16 and the payload will be robotically removed from the Dragon
trunk and installed on the ISS on March 19. (Photo courtesy of NASA)

Robotic operators at NASA’s Johnson Space Center will attach the STP-H9 payload to the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) within the next few days, and STP engineers will power and test it before turning over control to researchers on Earth.

The STP-H9 mission will showcase a variety of technologies, such as artificial intelligence and wireless power beaming, along with observations of the ionosphere and gravity waves in the stratosphere.

The DoD Space Test Program office located in New Mexico oversees STP-H9, while Space Domain Awareness & Combat Power located at Los Angeles Air Force Base administers the DoD STP. SSC’s mission is to acquire and deliver resilient warfighting capabilities so as to safeguard America’s strategic advantage in space.

The STP-H9 mission was a testament to the successful partnership between SSC and NASA that has endured for two decades. Lt. Col. Jonathan Shea, director of the DoD Space Test Program, expressed his appreciation for their collaboration and the opportunity to conduct essential research onboard the International Space Station (ISS).

With 58 years of space experimentation under their belts, this milestone marks an important moment in their 58 year history of providing access to space for emerging DoD technologies as well as rapid space access solutions for research and development experiments.

The STP-H9 mission is particularly noteworthy given the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Space Test Program and its experiment teammates overcame numerous obstacles to reach this landmark. STP designed and built the integrated payload that will connect eight experiments to the International Space Station using avionics developed by STP for testing these platforms on board.

As Space Systems Command continues to deliver ground-based infrastructure and systems that identify threats to national, allied, and commercial space systems, the successful conclusion of STP-H9 marks an important development in developing resilient warfighting capabilities to safeguard America’s strategic advantage in space.

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