Riding aboard an Orbital Sciences Pegasus Rocket. The SPACETECH 5 micro-satellites successfully
launched at 6:03am Pacific time on March 22. 2006 from Vandenberg Air Force Base. California.
NASA's three micro-sats were launched to test and validate new technologies for future science missions.
The ST5 mission primarily focused on flight testing miniaturized satellites in the harsh environment of space and
evaluating their ability to make research-quality scientific measurements.
It demonstrated the benefits of using a constellation of spacecraft to perform scientific
studies of the beautiful auroral displays that occur near Earth's polar regions.
The ST5 Project is a part of NASA's New Millennium Program. which was created to identify. develop.
build. and test innovative technologies and concepts for use in future missions.
The ST5 satellites completed their planned 90-day mission on June 30. 2006.