Mission type | Astrophysics |
---|---|
Operator | Tokyo Metropolitan University |
Website | www |
Mission duration | 1.5 years (planned) [1] |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft type | microsatellite |
Launch mass | 46 kg [2] |
Dimensions | 46 ×46 ×44 cm [2] |
Power | 78 W [3] (solar panels) |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | ? |
Orbital parameters | |
Regime | Low Earth orbit |
Periapsis altitude | 550 km [2] |
Apoapsis altitude | 550 km |
Inclination | 3° [2] |
Period | 96 min [2] |
Epoch | planned |
Main X-ray astronomy | |
Focal length | 20 cm (7.9 in) [2] |
Wavelengths | X-ray |
Transponders | |
Band | S band [1] |
Orbiting Binary Black Hole Investigation Satellite (ORBIS) is a small space telescope still in development by Japan that will study binary black holes in the X-ray region.
The ORBIS concept won the first prize at the 18th Satellite Design Contest in 2010, [3] and of 2015 it was on preliminary design and undergoing thermal simulations by the Tokyo Metropolitan University [3] [4] with support from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS). [3] [1] [2]
The spacecraft will have a mass of about 46 kg and it features a propulsion system using 60 wt% hydrogen peroxide. [1] Launch was aimed for 2020. [5] [6] [7]
Binary black holes (BBHs) are believed to be formed during the merger and growth of galaxies. Although several binary blackhole candidates have been identified, they have yet to be verified by long-term observations. [3] [8] In order to ascertain that an object is a BBH, periodical luminosity change in X-ray wavelength must be detected. However, continuous observation of BBHs by large X-ray telescopes is difficult as such spacecraft are used by many groups and have numerous observation targets. [8] Since microsatellites have comparatively low-cost, flexibility, and can fly more often than large spacecraft, they can conduct unique studies where risks are associated. [8] [9] As ORBIS is dedicated to study BBHs, it can conduct continuous observation of such bodies. The scientific goals of the microsatellite is to uncover the growth process of black holes and galaxies, and to and contribute to gravitational-wave astronomy. [2]
Some simulations have concluded that after crossing a certain distance, the energy dissipation of two approaching black holes ceases, result in them not getting closer any further. [8] However, the merger of black holes is expected to occur during the collision of galaxies. [8] This unsolved problem is known as the final parsec problem. By finding and studying black holes less than 1 pc apart, ORBIS aims to resolve this issue. [8]
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into orbit, and is involved in many more advanced missions such as asteroid exploration and possible human exploration of the Moon. Its motto is One JAXA and its corporate slogan is Explore to Realize.
AKARI (ASTRO-F) was an infrared astronomy satellite developed by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, in cooperation with institutes of Europe and Korea. It was launched on 21 February 2006, at 21:28 UTC by M-V rocket into Earth Sun-synchronous orbit. After its launch it was named AKARI (明かり), which means light in Japanese. Earlier on, the project was known as IRIS.
Hitomi, also known as ASTRO-H and New X-ray Telescope (NeXT), was an X-ray astronomy satellite commissioned by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) for studying extremely energetic processes in the Universe. The space observatory was designed to extend the research conducted by the Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics (ASCA) by investigating the hard X-ray band above 10 keV. The satellite was originally called New X-ray Telescope; at the time of launch it was called ASTRO-H. After it was placed in orbit and its solar panels deployed, it was renamed Hitomi. The spacecraft was launched on 17 February 2016 and contact was lost on 26 March 2016, due to multiple incidents with the attitude control system leading to an uncontrolled spin rate and breakup of structurally weak elements.
The Institute for Unmanned Space Experiment Free Flyer (USEF) (財団法人無人宇宙実験システム研究開発機構) was a Japanese space agency, which was founded by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry in 1986. Unlike NASDA, ISAS, and NAL, it was not included in the JAXA organization, which was founded in 2003. The chairperson is Ichiro Taniguchi.
Shin'en, known before launch as UNITEC-1 or UNISEC Technology Experiment Carrier 1, is a Japanese student spacecraft which was intended to make a flyby of Venus in order to study the effects of interplanetary spaceflight on spacecraft computers. In doing so, it was intended to become the first student-built spacecraft to operate beyond geocentric orbit. It was operated by University Space Engineering Consortium (UNISEC), a collaboration between several Japanese universities.
Negai☆″ is a Japanese satellite which launched in May 2010. It is a student-built spacecraft, which will be operated by Soka University, and is intended to be used for technology demonstration. The satellite is a single unit CubeSat, and will be used to test a field programmable gate array in orbit. As part of an outreach programme, it will carry the names of selected children, along with wishes they have made. The satellite will return images of the Earth, which will be given to the participating children.
The Nano-Japan Astrometry Satellite Mission for Infrared Exploration (Nano-JASMINE) is an astrometric microsatellite developed by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, with contributions by the University of Tokyo's Intelligent Space Systems Laboratory (ISSL). As of 2015, the satellite was planned for launch together with CHEOPS in 2019. However, this launch took place in December 2019 without Nano-JASMINE as one of the three piggyback payloads. Some sources named 2022 as the launch year of the satellite. The launch was cancelled in 2020s and the satellite is now displayed in Kakamigahara Air and Space Museum.
The Japanese space program originated in the mid-1950s as a research group led by Hideo Itokawa at the University of Tokyo. The size of the rockets produced gradually increased from under 30 cm (12 in) at the start of the project, to over 15 m (49 ft) by the mid-1960s. The aim of the original research project was to launch a man-made satellite.
Arase, formerly known as Exploration of energization and Radiation in Geospace (ERG), is a scientific satellite to study the Van Allen belts. It was developed by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science of JAXA. While there was a scientist working on a similar project with the surname Arase, the satellite's name has nothing to do with him but instead named after a river beside the launch point.
PROCYON was an asteroid flyby space probe that was launched together with Hayabusa2 on 3 December 2014 13:22:04 (JST). It was developed by University of Tokyo and JAXA. It was a small, low cost spacecraft.
Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), dubbed "Moon Sniper", was a lunar lander mission of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The lander's initial launch date in 2021 was postponed until 2023 due to delays in its rideshare, the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM). On 6 September 2023 at 23:42 UTC, XRISM launched, and SLIM separated from it later that day.
TRICOM-1R, also known as Tasuki, was a Japanese nanosatellite that was launched during the SS-520-5 sounding rocket test launch on 3 February 2018, with a mission to conduct store and forward data relay and Earth observation using a set of cameras.
The X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission, formerly the X-ray Astronomy Recovery Mission (XARM), is an X-ray space telescope mission of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in partnership with NASA to provide breakthroughs in the study of structure formation of the universe, outflows from galaxy nuclei, and dark matter. As the only international X-ray observatory project of its period, XRISM will function as a next generation space telescope in the X-ray astronomy field, similar to how the James Webb Space Telescope, Fermi Space Telescope, and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) Observatory are placed in their respective fields.
Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) is a robotic space probe set for launch in 2026 to bring back the first samples from Mars' largest moon Phobos. Developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and announced on 9 June 2015, MMX will land and collect samples from Phobos once or twice, along with conducting Deimos flyby observations and monitoring Mars's climate.
The Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration Program is a series of spacecraft missions for testing technology and ideas put forward by universities and private companies. The program demonstrates various experimental devices and technology in space by providing flight opportunities. It is managed by the JAXA Research and Development Directorate. According to JAXA, the goal of this program is to test high risk, innovative technology that will lead to the space industry gaining competitiveness in the international field.
TSUBAME was a microsatellite developed by the Tokyo Institute of Technology and Tokyo University of Science from a student design concept in 2004. The satellite was designed to demonstrate new technologies for rapid attitude control, observing gamma ray bursts, and Earth observation. The name, TSUBAME, means swift in Japanese and was chosen both because of the experimental attitude control system and to invoke another gamma ray observatory, the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission, which launched shortly after TSUBAME's first design concept was published in 2004.
PETREL is a technology demonstration satellite being developed by Tokyo Institute of Technology. The microsatellite is equipped with a multispectral camera, which will be used to carry out two distinct missions. One mission is to survey the sky in ultraviolet wavelengths for the field of time-domain astronomy, and the other is to conduct spectroscopic observations of the Earth. PETREL was originally planned to be launched as part of JAXA's 2022 Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-3 mission, but wasn't launched. As of September 2024, PETREL is scheduled to be launched during fiscal year 2025 on the first H3-30 test flight.
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