OrbitalHub

Credits: JAXA

While solar sail projects around the world are starving for funding, in Japan things are different. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is developing a small solar power sail demonstrator, IKAROS (Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation Of the Sun). IKAROS is equipped with a square sail made of polyimide resin and 0.0075 mm thick. Long-term plans of the agency include a medium-sized solar power sail with a diameter of 50 m and ion-propulsion engines that will explore the Trojan asteroids and Jupiter.

The solar power sail is a slightly different concept than the traditional solar sail. In addition to the solar sail, the solar power sail has a thin film of solar cells deployed on the membrane. The solar cells generate electricity that can be used to power ion-propulsion engines onboard the spacecraft. Fuel-effective mission profiles are made possible by such hybrids.

IKAROS will be launched from the Tanegashima Space Center on top of a H-II launch vehicle. It will share the ride with the Venus Climate Orbiter “AKATSUKI”.

JAXA is committed to leading the research and the development of solar sails:
“JAXA will lead future solar system exploration using solar power sails. Our missions will lead to lower cost in the solar cells market, whose growth is a key factor for global warming prevention. Those low-cost solar cells are also the foundation of future solar power satellite systems.”

Centauri Dreams presents the comments of Osamu Mori, the project leader for the sail mission, on the solar-powered attitude control system of the spacecraft and the deployment method of the sail. You can find more information about IKAROS on JAXA’s web site.

Credits: JAXA

JAXA made available an initial analysis of observation data from GOSAT. GOSAT, the Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite, was launched from Tanegashima Space Center on January 23, 2009.

The data gathered so far by GOSAT, which describes the concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane, is preliminary and it needs further calibration and validation. JAXA is currently performing the initial calibration of the sensors mounted on GOSAT, as well as the tuning of the computer systems used to process the data downloaded from the satellite. The validation of the measurements consists of comparisons with ground-based observations.

JAXA plans to release validated carbon dioxide and methane distribution maps in late 2010. You can read more about GOSAT on the GOSAT Project web page.

Credits: NASA

The Valentine’s Day Edition of the Carnival of Space is hosted by Bruce Cordell at 21ST CENTURY WAVES.

The collision of the Iridium 33 and Cosmos 2251 satellites has sent ripples across the space blogosphere and debris into low Earth orbit. At this Carnival you can read about shielding interstellar spaceships, saving the Space Shuttle, Pluto, visualizing constellations, lakes on Titan, type III Kardashev civilizations, and much more.

OrbitalHub has submitted a post about the Japan Experiment Module a.k.a. Kibo. The Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) is the first contribution of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to the International Space Station (ISS) program.

Credits: NASA

The Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) a.k.a. Kibo is the first contribution of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to the International Space Station (ISS) program.

Kibo improves the research capabilities of the ISS by accommodating a maximum of four astronauts who can conduct scientific research activities and experiments in orbit.

JEM has six major components: the Pressurized Module (PM), the Exposed Facility (EF), the Experiment Logistics Module – Pressurized Section (ELM-PS), the Experiment Logistics Module – Exposed Section (ELM-ES), the Remote Manipulator System (JEMRMS), and the Inter-Orbit Communication System (ICS).

The PM is the largest component of JEM. It has a cylindrical shape, 4.4 m in diameter and 11.2 m in length. A total of twenty-three racks can be installed in the PM, six racks on each of the four walls, except for the zenith wall, which can accommodate a maximum of 5 racks. Some of the visible features are the airlock (which allows access to the EF), the two windows located above the airlock, the berthing mechanism for the EF (EFBM), an Active Common Berthing Mechanism (ACBM) on the zenith side for berthing the ELM-PS, and a Passive Common Berthing Mechanism (PCBM) used to connect with the port side ACBM of the Harmony module.

Credits: NASDA

The EF is a box-shaped structure, which is 5.0 m wide, has a length of 5.2 m, and a height of 3.8 m. The EF has 12 payload attachment locations. Each payload location can accommodate a science experiment that must be conducted in the exposed environment.

Kibo’s robotic arm (JEMRMS) is used for attaching and removing the payloads.

The ELM-PS is a cylindrical structure 4.4 m in diameter and 4.2 m in length. The ELM-PS contains a total of eight rack locations. ELM-PS can be used as storage space for experiments, samples, and spare items.

The ELM-ES provides storage space for up to three payloads. ELM-ES will be attached to the end of the EF. Besides the function of in-orbit exposed storage facility, the ELM-ES can also be used to return scientific payloads to Earth. The ELM-ES is a frame structure 4.9 m wide, with a length of 4.1 m, and a height of 2.2 m.

Credits: NASDA

The JEMRMS is a robotic manipulator system. JEMRMS will have two roles: supporting the experiments conducted on Kibo, and assisting with Kibo’s maintenance tasks.

A 10 m long Main Arm (MA), a 2.2 m long Small Fine Arm (SFA), and a robotic control workstation are the components of the robotic manipulator system.

The ICS has two subsystems: a Pressurized Module (ICS-PM) and an Exposed Facility (ICS-EF). The ICS-PM occupies a rack inside the PM, and provides command and data handling functions. The ICS-EF is basically the antenna used for communication.

Kibo is a large structure and more Space Shuttle missions are required to complete the deployment of all the components.

STS-123 Space Shuttle Endeavour delivered the ELM-PS component and ICS-PS to the ISS. JAXA astronaut Takao Doi was part of the STS-123 crew as mission specialist. During the mission, the ELM-PS was berthed to the zenith port of the Node 2 (Harmony) module. The ELM-PS carried the system racks and the experiment racks that are operated in the PM.

Credits: NASA

STS-124 Space Shuttle Discovery delivered the PM and the JEMRMS components to the ISS. The JAXA astronaut assigned to STS-124 as mission specialist was Akihiko Hoshide. STS-124 had to perform a number of operations in order to activate and assemble the pressurized components of JEM: installation and activation of PM, rack deployment, installation of JEMRMS, and the relocation of the ELM-PS from the zenith port of Node 2 to the zenith side of the PM.

The EF is the last major component of Kibo that has to be hauled to the ISS. The STS-127 mission will carry the EF, together with the ELM-ES and the ICS-EF components. The completion of Kibo will be done in two steps: the EF will be attached to the PM through the EFBM, and the ELM-ES will be attached to the EF as the last step. JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata will be on board the ISS to supervise the operation as mission specialist.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has a web page dedicated to Kibo.

Credits: JAXA

After a launch postponement due to a bad weather forecast, IBUKI was finally launched on January 23, 2009.

IBUKI was launched aboard H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 15 from the Tanegashima Space Center. Sixteen minutes after liftoff, the separation of IBUKI was confirmed. The satellite was injected into the scheduled orbit: 684.8 km x 667.4 km, with an orbit inclination of 98 degrees.

IBUKI was not the only satellite launched by flight 15. The payload included several piggyback payloads. It is common practice to include small satellites in the payload that are made by private companies or universities, in the case of an excessive launch capability.

Seven micro-satellites, six selected through public tender and one JAXA satellite, were launched by the H-IIA launch vehicle with IBUKI: KAGAYAKI / SORUN CORPORATION (debris detection and Aurora electric current observation mission), STARS / Kagawa University (tether space robot demonstration), KKS-1 / Tokyo Metropolitan College of Industrial Technology (demonstration of the micro cluster and three axis attitude control functions), PRISM / The University of Tokyo (earth image acquisition by using an expandable refracting telescope), SOHLA-1 / ASTRO TECHNOLOGY SOHLA (measurements of thunder and lightning), SPRITE-SAT / Tohoku University (observations of the sprite phenomenon and gamma radiation of the Earth’s origin), and Small Demonstration Satellite-1 (SDS-1) / JAXA (on-orbit verification of the space wire demonstration).

Credits: JAXA

For more details on the additional payloads of H-IIA F15, you can check out the piggyback payload web page on the JAXA web site. Some of the links on the page require knowledge of Japanese or hands-on experience with the Google translation tool.

IBUKI will undergo a check of the onboard equipment function for about three months before becoming operational.

Credits: JAXA

The Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite or GOSAT for short, is getting closer to the launch scheduled for late January 2009. The chosen nickname for GOSAT is IBUKI, which means breath or puff.

IBUKI was encapsulated in the payload fairing after being mounted on the Payload Attach Fitting (PAF). The PAF is the base that connects the satellite and the launch vehicle. All of the integration operations are performed at the Spacecraft and Fairing Assembly building (SFA) at the Tanegashima Space Center (TNSC).

The final integration with the launch vehicle will be carried out at the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB).

GOSAT is the first satellite to observe greenhouse gases from space. The main contributors behind GOSAT are the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), and the Ministry of Environment (MOE).

The data collected by the GOSAT satellite will help us make better estimates as to how different areas on Earth contribute to global warming through the emission of greenhouse gases. The data will also help us understand the behavior of the greenhouse gases by combining global observation data collected on orbit with data collected on the ground, and it will also help us improve simulation models.