Sherpa-AC
Spaceflight Inc
Attitude-control variant of Sherpa-FX with 2-way RF comms, reaction wheels, and hosted payload support up to 1 year in LEO.
Technical specifications
- Vehicle type
- Free-flyer with attitude determination and control
- Port interface
- 24" ESPA standard
- Maximum payload capacity
- 300 kg (reconfigurable)
- Propulsion
- None (attitude control only)
- Attitude control
- Reaction wheels + thrusters
- Communications
- 2-way RF; dedicated data storage; live ground station links
- Power
- Solar cells + batteries
- Hosted payload duration
- Up to 1 year in LEO
- First flight
- May 25, 2022 (SpaceX Transporter-5, 525 km SSO)
About
Sherpa-AC augments the Sherpa-FX baseline with attitude determination and control capability, flight computer, electrical power system, and 2-way RF communications. This makes it ideal for hosted payloads requiring precise pointing or tracking in LEO.
The attitude control system includes reaction wheels and thrusters for pointing. Dedicated data storage and live ground station communications enable real-time hosted payload operations for missions lasting up to 1 year in LEO.
Like all Sherpa-NG vehicles, Sherpa-AC accommodates payloads up to 300 kg from a 24″ ESPA port. First flight was May 25, 2022 on SpaceX Transporter-5 (525 km SSO).
Documentation
No public datasheet yet — request the datasheet / ICD from the supplier.
