Teledyne Brown Engineering has an agreement with the DLR to host the DESIS payload and successfully deliver exquisitely calibrated hyperspectral imagery. The MUSES platform can accommodate hosted payloads for a few weeks to a few years. Since the ISS is human operated, experimental instruments can be adjusted on board in a way free flyers cannot. These instruments can be imaging sensors, laser communications, or other sensing equipment that can fit into the MUSES large and space containers. Sensors go up on a resupply mission in soft stowage (think bubble wrap) and they are attached to MUSES using the robotic arm on the ISS.

The benefits of going the hosted payoad route are:

• Testing ability of your sensor to withstand the conditions of space at a lower cost than a free flier launch

• Since the ISS is manned, if there is a malfunction, there is a crew to repair or adjust

• The instrument is returned after your mission so you can evaluate its condition after exposure to space, so you can reuse as a free flyer after its return

• Launching with the instrument in soft stowage mean less testing than free flyers (e.g.shake tests)

• Variable length missions mean you have the opportunity for a short test or a longer one

• Teledyne handles all of the integration, safety, QA, data downlink and delivery. You focus on your mission, we focus on making it successful​
  

If you have questions concerning MUSES or DESIS commercial, academic, or NGO site access, please contact TBE.