Flight Results from the GeneSat-1 Biological Microsatellite Mission

The mission of the GeneSat-1 technology demonstration spacecraft is to validate the use of research-quality instrumentation for in situ biological research and processing. To execute this mission, the GeneSat-1 satellite was launched on December 16, 2006 from Wallops Flight Facility as a secondary payload off of a Minotaur launch vehicle. During the first week of operation, the core biological growth test was successfully executed, and by the end of the first month of operation all primary science and engineering test objectives had been successfully performed. In its current phase of operation, a variety of secondary technology characterizations tests are being performed, and a wide range of educational, training, and public outreach programs are being supported. This paper reviews the GeneSat-1 mission system, discusses the government-industry-university teaming approach, and presents flight results pertaining to the primary scientific and engineering experiments.