SPARK (rocket)

SPARK
Super Strypi rocket on the launch pad
FunctionExpendable launch system
ManufacturerUniversity of Hawaii
Aerojet Rocketdyne
Sandia
Country of originUnited States
Size
Height17 m (56 ft)[1]
Diameter1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) [1]
Mass28,240 kg (62,260 lb) [1]
StagesThree
Capacity
Payload to 400 km SSO
Mass250 kilograms (550 lb)
Associated rockets
FamilyStrypi
Launch history
StatusIn development
Launch sitesBarking Sands
Total launches1
Success(es)0
Failure(s)1
First flight3 November 2015

SPARK, or Spaceborne Payload Assist Rocket - Kauai, also known as Super Strypi,[2] is an American expendable launch system developed by the University of Hawaii, Sandia and Aerojet Rocketdyne.[3] Designed to place miniaturized satellites into low Earth and Sun-synchronous orbits, it is a derivative of the Strypi rocket which was developed in the 1960s in support of nuclear weapons testing. SPARK is being developed under the Low Earth Orbiting Nanosatellite Integrated Defense Autonomous System (LEONIDAS) program, funded by the Operationally Responsive Space Office of the United States Department of Defense.

  1. ^ a b c Graham, William (November 3, 2015). "Super Strypi conducts inaugural launch – Fails during first stage". NASA Spaceflight. Archived from the original on 2015-11-08. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
  2. ^ "HawaiiSat-1". eoPortal Directory. Archived from the original on 20 January 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  3. ^ Krebs, Gunter. "SPARK". Gunter's Space Page. Archived from the original on 15 January 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2012.