Small satellites and the DARPA/Air Force FALCON program

The FALCON program is a technology demonstration effort with three major components: a Small Launch Vehicle (SLV), a Hypersonic Technology Vehicle (HTV), and a Hypersonic Cruise Vehicle (HCV). Sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and executed jointly by the United States Air Force and DARPA with NASA participation, the objectives are to develop and demonstrate technologies that will enable both near-term and far-term capability to execute time-critical, global reach missions. The focus of this paper is on the SLV as it relates to small satellites and the implications of lower cost to orbit for small satellites. The target recurring cost for placing 1000 pounds payloads into a circular reference orbit of 28 . 5 ∘ at 100 nautical miles is $5,000,000 per launch. This includes range costs but not the payload or payload integration costs. In addition to the nominal 1000 pounds to low earth orbit (LEO), FALCON is seeking delivery of a range of orbital payloads from 220 to 2200 pounds to the reference orbit. Once placed on ‘alert’ status, the SLV must be capable of launch within 24 h.