Trailblazer (satellite)

Infobox Spacecraft
Organisation = US Air Force/MDA
Orbit_regime = LEO
Carrier_Rocket = Falcon 1
Launch = 3 August 2008
Major_Contractors = SpaceDev
Bus = MMB-100
Mission_Type = Technology demonstration

Trailblazer was a technology demonstration satellite, which was to have been operated by the United States Air Force and MDA. It was selected for launch under a "Jumpstart" contract, to demonstrate responsiveness, with the final payload being chosen less than a month ahead of the scheduled launch date, and was launched as the primary payload of the third Falcon 1, which failed just over two minutes after launch on 3 August 2008. Both previous Falcon 1 launches also failed to reach orbit.

It was originally built for a cancelled MDA project, and was based on a SpaceDev MMB-100 satellite bus. It was launched from Omelek Island, at 03:34 GMT. Several other payloads were to be launched aboard the same rocket, including two CubeSats for NASA, and a space burial payload for Celestis, which would have remained attached to the rocket in low Earth orbit.

References

* [http://space.skyrocket.de/index_frame.htm?http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/trailblazer.htm Gunter's Space Page - Trailblazer]
* [http://www.livescience.com/blogs/2008/06/10/spacex-falcon-rocket-third-flight-the-charm/ SpaceX Falcon Rocket: Third Flight the Charm?]