33495 - KAGAYAKI

KAGAYAKI, developed by the Tokyo-based information system company Sorun Corporation, will observe aurorae from space. The 15-cm, cube-shaped satellite was built by about 40 students in their free time after school and on weekends. More than 20 small and midsize companies in Arakawa Ward, Tokyo, contributed to its manufacture. Among the design features are an autonomous on-board control system and an inflatable deployable boom. The mission goals are to measure orbital debris and observe auroral electric currents.

This one of seven microsatellites deployed as piggyback payloads to the IBUKI spacecraft. All of these spacecraft follow a similar roughly 660 km sun-synchronous orbit. Six of the small satellites were developed by universities and private-sector companies; the seventh is a technology demonstrator for JAXA.

Facts in Brief

Launch Date: 2009-01-23
Launch Vehicle: H-2A
Launch Site: Tanegashima, Japan
Mass: 28.0 kg