Jamie Bennet
General Atomics’ GAzelle satellite and its accompanying Argos-4 and RadMon payloads have reached a milestone since their launch into orbit in October and are now capable of starting their respective next phases.
The satellite has accomplished its on-orbit Post Launch Acceptance Review, while commissioning has begun for Argos-4 and concluded for RadMon, General Atomics said Monday.
The GAzelle satellite, previously known as Orbital Test Bed-3, is being managed by the company from the Colorado-based Spacecraft Mission Operations Center. General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems teamed up with Rocket Lab in 2021 to launch the Argos-4 Advanced Data Collection System on the satellite.
The payload passed its initial on-orbit checkout and embarked on its three-month commissioning process.
RadMon, meanwhile, has completed commissioning and is expected to commence mission operations.
“We look forward to having the GAzelle satellite join the Argos constellation as part of an international program to collect and distribute environmental data for use in applications such as ocean buoy tracking, wildlife and fishery monitoring, and maritime security,” said Gregg Burgess, vice president of GA-EMS Space Systems.
