SlingShot
SEOPS
SlingShot is SEOPS' flagship CubeSat/small-satellite deployer that rides on Northrop Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft, deploying payloads at an altitude above the ISS after Cygnus completes its cargo resupply mission and departs the station.
Technical specifications
- Deployment capacity
- Up to 72U of CubeSats per Cygnus mission
- Maximum single payload size
- 12U CubeSat
- Compatible CubeSat formats
- 1U, 2U, 3U Rail, 6U Rail, 6U Tab, 12U Rail, 12U Tab
- Deployment mechanism
- Perpendicular deployment
- Mounting location
- Passive Common Berthing Mechanism (PCBM) face of the Cygnus spacecraft
- Host vehicle
- Northrop Grumman Cygnus ISS Cargo Resupply Vehicle
- Deployment altitude
- Approximately 450-500 km
- Expected on-orbit payload life
- 2+ years
- Flight heritage
- First flown February 2019 on Cygnus NG-10; also flown on NG-11 (2019) and NG-16 (2021); 4 missions completed with 100% mission success
About
SlingShot is a small satellite deployment system developed by SEOPS, LLC that mounts on the Passive Common Berthing Mechanism (PCBM) face of the Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft used for ISS cargo resupply missions. After Cygnus completes its primary cargo delivery mission and unberths from the International Space Station, it maneuvers to a higher orbit, typically 450-500 km altitude, roughly 45-100 km above the ISS, before SlingShot deploys its mounted CubeSats and small satellites, giving payloads a longer expected on-orbit lifetime (2+ years) than deployment at ISS altitude would allow. SlingShot uses a unique perpendicular deployment mechanism that lets it accommodate 1U, 2U, 3U Rail, 6U Rail, 6U Tab, 12U Rail, and 12U Tab CubeSat form factors without major dispenser modification. It also supports hosted payloads with external power/data connectivity and hard-mounting options. SEOPS developed and qualified SlingShot with NASA in under a year, contracting directly with Northrop Grumman for integration engineering. SlingShot first flew operationally in February 2019 on the Cygnus NG-10 mission, and has since flown on additional Cygnus missions including NG-11 (2019) and NG-16 (2021), completing 4 missions with a 100% mission success rate.
Documentation
No public datasheet yet — request the datasheet / ICD from the supplier.