# MARScom

> former American military experimental satellite

**Wikidata**: [Q111497202](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q111497202)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/marscom

## Summary
MARScom was a small American technology-demonstration satellite (also called Military Affiliate Radio System Communication Satellite or NMARS) built and operated by the United States Naval Academy. It was a 12.7 cm cube weighing about 5 kg, launched as a secondary payload on Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-116) on 2006-12-10 and reentered the atmosphere on 2007-05-06.

## Key Facts
- MARScom was a technology demonstration spacecraft and a small satellite (12.7 cm × 12.7 cm × 12.7 cm) with a launch mass of 5 kilogram.  
- It was built and operated by the United States Naval Academy and originated from the United States.  
- COSPAR ID / NSSDCA ID: 2006-055D; SCN (Satellite Catalog Number): 29662.  
- Launch date and time: 2006-12-10 at 01:47:35 (launched on STS-116).  
- Launch vehicle and mission: Space Shuttle Discovery (as a secondary payload) from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B.  
- Deployment from the launch stack/secondary release recorded on 2006-12-21.  
- End of mission / atmospheric entry (orbit decay): 2007-05-06.  
- Powered by a spacecraft solar array.  
- Alternate names / aliases: Military Affiliate Radio System Communication Satellite; NMARS.  
- Instance classifications: technology demonstration spacecraft, small satellite, secondary payload, former entity.

## FAQs
### Q: What was MARScom?
A: MARScom was a small, experimental U.S. satellite used for demonstrating technologies. It was built and operated by the United States Naval Academy and launched in December 2006.

### Q: When and how was MARScom launched?
A: MARScom was launched on 2006-12-10 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery during the STS-116 mission from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B as a secondary payload.

### Q: How big and heavy was MARScom?
A: MARScom was a 12.7 cm cube with a launch mass of approximately 5 kilograms.

### Q: When did MARScom stop orbiting Earth?
A: MARScom reentered the atmosphere and ceased orbiting on 2007-05-06.

### Q: Who operated and manufactured MARScom?
A: The United States Naval Academy is listed as both the manufacturer and operator of MARScom.

## Why It Matters
MARScom represents a compact, mission-oriented approach to testing spacecraft technologies in low Earth orbit. As a technology demonstration craft and a small satellite built and operated by the United States Naval Academy, it provided a platform for experimental systems and practical, hands-on involvement by a military-affiliated educational institution. Launched as a secondary payload on a Space Shuttle mission, MARScom illustrates how small, low-mass satellites can be integrated into larger launch campaigns to gain orbital experience without requiring dedicated launch vehicles. Its brief orbital lifetime—from December 2006 deployment to atmospheric entry in May 2007—provided a defined test period for whatever experimental hardware or communications systems it carried, under the design constraint of a 12.7 cm cube and a 5 kg launch weight. The satellite’s identifiers (COSPAR 2006-055D, SCN 29662) and documented deployment and decay dates make it a traceable example of early-2000s small-satellite technology demonstrations tied to U.S. naval academic programs.

## Notable For
- Being a very small (12.7 cm cube), low-mass (5 kg) technology demonstration satellite built and operated by the United States Naval Academy.  
- Launch as a secondary payload on Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-116) from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B.  
- Short, well-documented operational timeline: launch 2006-12-10, deployment 2006-12-21, atmospheric entry 2007-05-06.  
- Official identifiers: COSPAR/NSSDCA 2006-055D and SCN 29662.  
- Use of a spacecraft solar array for power and association with Military Affiliate Radio System Communication Satellite (NMARS) as an alias.

## Body

### Overview
- Name: MARScom.  
- Aliases: Military Affiliate Radio System Communication Satellite; NMARS.  
- Wikidata description: former American military experimental satellite.  
- Instance types: technology demonstration spacecraft; small satellite; secondary payload; former entity.

### Physical characteristics
- Shape and dimensions: cube, 12.7 cm width × 12.7 cm height × 12.7 cm length.  
- Launch mass: 5 kilogram (launch weight).  
- Power: spacecraft solar array.

### Mission timeline
- Launch: 2006-12-10, time recorded as 01:47:35.  
- Launch site: Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B.  
- Launch vehicle: Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-116), as a secondary payload.  
- Deployment from the shuttle/stack: recorded 2006-12-21.  
- Atmospheric entry / orbit decay: 2007-05-06.

### Operations and ownership
- Manufacturer: United States Naval Academy.  
- Operator: United States Naval Academy.  
- Country of origin / country: United States.

### Identifiers and catalog entries
- COSPAR ID: 2006-055D.  
- NSSDCA ID: 2006-055D.  
- SCN / Satellite Catalog Number: 29662.  
- Wolfram Language entity code: Entity["Satellite", "29662"].

### Significant events and associations
- Launched on STS-116 from KSC LC-39B as part of a shuttle flight that included other payloads referenced alongside MARScom.  
- Deployment date recorded 2006-12-21 (per APRS operational record).  
- Atmospheric entry recorded 2007-05-06 (per NSSDCA trajectory/decay records).

## References

1. [Source](https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/raft1_marscom.htm)
2. Jonathan's Space Report
3. [Source](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/displayTrajectory.action?id=2006-055D)
4. [Source](http://www.aprs.org/ande-raft-ops.html)