Birds-1

Last updated

Birds project logo Birds Cubesat Logo.jpg
Birds project logo

Birds-1 was the first iteration of a multinational program called the Joint Global Multi-Nations Birds Satellite project, or Birds project, to help countries build their first satellite. The Japanese Kyushu Institute of Technology (KIT) supported the design and fabrication of the satellites. The constellation was launched by a Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station on 3 June 2017, as part of CRS-11, where it was released from the Kibō module into space. Japan, Ghana, Mongolia, Nigeria, and Bangladesh participated in the Birds-1 program, all building identical satellites for the constellation.

Contents

All of the Birds-1 satellites deorbited in May 2019.

Background

The Kyushu Institute of Technology (KIT) in Japan supports non-spacefaring countries to build their first satellite through a program called The Joint Global Multi-Nation Birds Satellite project (BIRDS). Five countries participated in the first Bird program: Japan, Ghana, Mongolia, Nigeria, and Bangladesh. [1] The Birds project logo was designed by Ghanaian student Ernest Teye Matey. [2]

The Nigerian government had a background with satellites, but had never built one prior to Birds-1. [3] Sometimes Mazaalai was referred to as Mongolia's first satellite, but it was launched by Bermuda-based company ABS and built by U.S. company Boeing. It was co-branded as MongolSat-1 after launch. Birds-1 successfully launched the first satellite for Bangladesh, Ghana, Mongolia, and Nigeria. [4]

Development and design

Three out of five Birds-1 satellites in orbit 3 satellites of BIRD-1.jpg
Three out of five Birds-1 satellites in orbit

Five countries built identical satellites: Bangladesh (BRAC Onnesha), Japan (Toki), Mongolia ( Mazaalai ), Ghana (GhanaSat-1), and Nigeria (Nigeria EduSat-1). [5] [6] Each satellite cost about US$500,000 to manufacture and launch. [7] The satellites were 10 centimetres (3.9 in) cubes in the 1U CubeSat class, weighing around 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) each. [8] [1] Power was generated from solar cells and stored in batteries. They carried 0.3 megapixel and 5 megapixel cameras to image the Earth. The constellation could also transmit music and other sounds back to Earth. The satellites also contained provisions to measure the effects of solar radiation on commercial microprocessors and could measure air density. [9] The satellites were expected to remain in orbit for 1.1 years. [10]

Mission

Launch

SpaceX launch of CRS-11 with Birds-1 onboard Launch of CRS-11 mission.jpg
SpaceX launch of CRS-11 with Birds-1 onboard

SpaceX launched the constellation on its CRS-11 mission to the International Space Station on 3 June 2017. Birds-1 was carried in a Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket, launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center Pad LC-39A, the 100th launch from that pad. This was the first time SpaceX had reused one of its Dragon capsules. [11]

The satellites were ejected from the Kibō module of the International Space Station on 7 July 2017. [5] On ejection, astronaut Jack Fischer said on Twitter, "Another great example of International Cooperation today on @Space_Station -- launched 5 micro-satellites from 5 countries off the JAXA arm!" [12]

The constellation orbited the Earth at an altitude of 400 kilometres (250 mi) and at an inclination of 51.61°. The satellites travelled around the Earth every 91 minutes at a velocity of 7.67 kilometres per second (4.77 mi/s). [7]

Operations

The satellites communicated with seven ground stations: one in each of the countries participating in the Birds-1 program, and one each in Thailand and Taiwan. [1] The same radio frequency was used for all of the satellites. The constellation could have music uploaded via a digi-singer. It was processed on the satellite, then transmitted to Earth with an ultra high frequency (UHF) antenna as voice FM data. [13]

Ghana intended to use the data to help monitor illegal mining and map the coastline. [14] BRAC Onnesha's purpose was to image vegetation, water resources, and urbanization. [15] The purpose of Nigeria EduSat-1 was more educational in nature; it was planned to be a technology demonstrator and to familiarize Nigerians with spacecraft design. [16] Mazaalai's intended use was to conduct independent space studies and help mitigate natural disasters. [6]

The five satellites deorbited in May 2019. [10]

Future work

Japan's work with non-spacefaring countries continued with Birds-2 in 2018 with the Philippines, Bhutan, and Malaysia. [1] Mongolia planned to launch a second satellite in 2019. [17] Ghana planned to build GhanaSat-2 and GhanaSat-3, with GhanaSat-2 focusing on water pollution, illegal mining, and deforestation. [18]

Related Research Articles

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd, or SSTL, is a company involved in the manufacture and operation of small satellites. A spin-off company of the University of Surrey, it is presently wholly owned by Airbus Defence and Space.

STRaND-1 is a failed 3U CubeSat developed by Surrey University's Surrey Space Centre (SSC) and Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL). The 4.3 kg (9.5 lb) nanosatellite was launched into orbit on board a PSLV Rocket from India on February 25, 2013, Smartphones have flown in space before inside the International Space Station, and the computer from a PDA launched inside two Japanese CubeSats in 2006 and 2008.

Nanoracks

Nanoracks LLC is a private in-space services company which builds tools to allow the re-purposing of in-space hardware and turn it into space stations.

WE WISH

WE WISH was a small commercial CubeSat which was deployed from the International Space Station (ISS) in October 2012 and which deorbited in March 2013. It was built by the Japanese technology company Meisei Electric and the Meisei Amateur Radio Club, and could transmit pictures taken by a small infrared camera via radio at 437.515 MHz. WE WISH travelled to orbit aboard Kounotori 3 (HTV-3) on 21 July 2012, along with other CubeSats including RAIKO, FITSAT-1, F-1, and TechEdSat-1.

Nanoracks CubeSat Deployer Device to deploy CubeSats into orbit from the International Space Station

The Nanoracks CubeSat Deployer (NRCSD) is a device to deploy CubeSats into orbit from the International Space Station (ISS).

SpaceX CRS-11 Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station

SpaceX CRS-11, also known as SpX-11, was a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station, launched successfully on 3 June 2017. The mission was contracted by NASA and was flown by SpaceX. The mission utilized a Falcon 9 launch vehicle and was the first reuse of C106, a CRS Dragon cargo vessel that was previously flown on the CRS-4 mission.

GhanaSat-1 First ghanaian spacecraft

GhanaSat-1 was the first Ghanaian nanosatellite to be launched into space. It was designed and built in two years in conjunction with the Kyushu Institute of Technology Birds-1 program, which has the goal of helping countries build their first satellite.

<i>Mazaalai</i> (satellite) First mongolian spacecraft

Mazaalai was a Mongolian nanosatellite CubeSat that was launched into space on 3 June 2017 as part of the SpaceX CRS-11 mission.

BRAC Onnesha First Bangladeshi nanosatellite

BRAC Onnesha was the first nanosatellite built in Bangladesh to be launched into space. The satellite was designed and built in conjunction with Kyushu Institute of Technology Birds-1 program, which has the goal of helping countries build their first satellite. It was designed and built over a two-year period.

Nigeria EduSat-1 Nigerian CubeSat

Nigeria EduSat-1 was a Nigerian nanosatellite built by the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), created in conjunction with the Japanese Birds-1 program. It was Nigeria's first satellite built by a university. It was launched from the Japanese Kibō module of the International Space Station.

PHL-Microsat Satellite program of the Philippines

The Philippine Scientific Earth Observation Microsatellite (PHL-Microsat) was a satellite program carried by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) of the Philippines in cooperation with the Tohoku and Hokkaido Universities of Japan.

1KUNS-PF

1KUNS-PF was the first Kenyan owned satellite to be launched into space. The cubesat was developed and assembled by the University of Nairobi. Technical support was provided by Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency and it was launched from the International Space Station after being delivered to the station by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Maya-1 First nanosatellite filipino spacecraft

Maya-1 was a Filipino nanosatellite. It was developed under the Philippine Scientific Earth Observation Microsatellite program (PHL-Microsat) and was jointly implemented by the University of the Philippines and the Department of Science and Technology as part of the Kyushu Institute of Technology-led multinational second Joint Global Multi-nations Birds Satellite (Birds-2). Maya-1 was the first nanosatellite of the Philippines.

BHUTAN-1 First Bhutanese nanosatellite

BHUTAN-1 was the first Bhutanese nanosatellite to be launched into space. The satellite was built during Kyushu Institute of Technology's Birds-2 program. The Birds program helps countries fly their first satellite. BHUTAN-1 was launched into orbit aboard the SpaceX CRS-15 mission on 29 June 2018. It was deployed from the Kibō module of the International Space Station (ISS) on 10 August 2018. The satellite had cameras to image the Earth.

UiTMSAT-1 First nanosatellite Malaysian spacecraft

UiTMSAT-1 was a Malaysian nanosatellite, built primarily by Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) as part of the multi-nation Birds-2 project. The 1U CubeSat was launched into space on 29 June 2018 and deployed from the International Space Station (ISS) on 10 August 2018.

Birds-2 is the second iteration of a multinational program called the Joint Global Multi-Nations Birds Satellite project, or Birds project, to help countries build their first satellite. The Japanese Kyushu Institute of Technology (KIT) supported the design and fabrication of the satellites. The satellites were launched by the Falcon 9 Full Thrust rocket as a part of the SpaceX CRS-15 mission on 29 June 2018. The satellites were released from the Kibō module of the International Space Station (ISS) in August 2018.

NepaliSat-1, also known as Bird NPL, was a Nepalese low orbit research satellite and the first satellite of Nepal. Along with a Sri Lankan satellite, Raavana 1, it was launched as part of Cygnus NG-11 by the United States on 17 April 2019. It reached the International Space Station on 19 April 2019, to be deployed later, and was estimated to revolve the Earth for six months.

Raavana 1 Sri Lankan research satellite

Raavana-1 was the first Sri Lankan satellite. The CubeSat-sized satellite was launched as part of the Cygnus NG-11 mission to the ISS on 17 April 2019. On 17 June 2019, the satellite was deployed into orbit from the ISS.

Warpspace is a private Japanese company developing an inter-satellite communication system based on laser communication. Warpspace is developing a medium Earth orbit satellite, WarpHub InterSat, which will communicate with other satellites in low Earth orbit using optical communication, then pass on the received data to ground stations.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Bird B, BTN, G, J, M, MYS, N, PHL (BRAC Onnesha, GhanaSat-1, Toki, Mazaalai, Nigeria EduSat-1)". Gunter's Space Page. Archived from the original on June 30, 2017. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Birds Project Newsletter" (PDF). Birds Project. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  3. ↑ Polycarp, Nwafor (May 18, 2017). "Nigeria to launch Africa's 1st nanosatellite". vanguardngr.com. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  4. ↑ Russell, Kendall (April 19, 2017). "ABS Co-Brands ABS 2A Capacity as MongolSat 1". satellitetoday.com.
  5. 1 2 "Successful deployment of five "BIRDS project" CubeSats from the "Kibo"". JAXA. June 7, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  6. 1 2 "Mongolia to send first satellite off to space on June 4". News Ghana. June 5, 2017. Archived from the original on June 29, 2017. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  7. 1 2 Babatunde, Mark (July 11, 2017). "Ghanaian Engineers Launch Ghanasat-1, Join Space Race". Face2Face Africa. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Brac University says 'hi' to first nano-satellite". The Daily Star. February 8, 2017. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  9. ↑ "First Mongolian Satellite Launched Into Space". Montsame. June 5, 2017. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  10. 1 2 "Report on BIRDS-1 Deorbiting" (PDF). Birds Project Newsletter. July 31, 2019. p. 96. ISSN   2433-8818 . Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  11. ↑ Clark, Stephen (June 3, 2017). "Reused Dragon cargo capsule launched on journey to space station". Spaceflight Now. Archived from the original on June 4, 2017. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  12. ↑ Fischer, Jack [@Astro2fish] (July 7, 2017). "Jack Fischer on Birds-1 Deployment" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ↑ "BIRDS-1 constellation of five CubeSats deployed". AMSAT-UK. July 7, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Ghana launches its first satellite into space". BBC. July 7, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  15. ↑ "First nanosatellite ready for launch". The Daily Star. February 9, 2017. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  16. ↑ "FUTA sets Nigerian record, to launch satellite into space". Premium Times. May 30, 2017. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  17. ↑ "Mongolia to send its first satellite to space on June 4". The Indian Express . June 3, 2017. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Ghana to launch GhanaSat-2 and Ghanasat-3 - Satellite Technical Team". GhanaWeb. Archived from the original on July 10, 2017. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.