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The EELV Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA) is an interstage adapter ring for launching secondary payloads on EELV-class orbital launch vehicles. Originally developed in the 2000s to launch secondary payloads on US DoD space missions that use the Atlas V and Delta IV Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles (EELV), the adapter design has become a ''de facto'' standard and is now also used for some private spacecraft missions as well. For example, multiple ESPA rings were used on a non-DoD launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 that carried the Orbcomm OG-2 constellation of communication satellites. The use of ESPA technology reduces launch costs for the primary mission and enables secondary and even tertiary missions with minimal impact to the original mission. ==History== Development was funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate (AFRL/VS) for the United States Department of Defense (DoD) Space Test Program (STP) under a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant in the late 1990s. Moog CSA Engineering teamed with AFRL to design, build and qualify the ring in the early 2000s. Additional studies have been done on ESPA applications for lunar and science missions under an SBIR from NASA Ames Research Center 〔 〕 , the ring is produced by Moog CSA Engineering.〔 〕 , the ESPA ring had been used on Atlas V and Delta IV rockets, although SpaceX had announced pricing for ESPA-compatible payloads on their Falcon 9 rocket.〔 〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「EELV Secondary Payload Adapter」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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