SDS-4
Small satellite
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
SDS-4 (Small Demonstration Satellite 4) is a small satellite (50 cm cube with mass of 50 kg) developed by JAXA. It was launched as a secondary payload on the Shizuku mission on 17 May 2012 UTC.[4]
| Mission type | Technology |
|---|---|
| Operator | JAXA |
| COSPAR ID | 2012-025C |
| SATCAT no. | 38339 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | SDS |
| Launch mass | 50 kilograms (110 lb)[1] |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 17 May 2012, 16:39 UTC[2] |
| Rocket | H-IIA 202 |
| Launch site | Tanegashima Yoshinobu 1 |
| Contractor | Mitsubishi |
| End of mission | |
| Deactivated | 1 July 2021 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee altitude | 666 kilometres (414 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 678 kilometres (421 mi) |
| Inclination | 98.23 degrees |
| Period | 98.05 minutes |
| Epoch | 30 October 2013, 08:31:20 UTC[3] |
In 2019, its ownership was transferred to the SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation (JSAT).[5] Operation was terminated by the end of June 2021.[6]
There are four rather specialised systems on the satellite:
- SPAISE (SPace-based Automatic Identification SystEm) - test on-orbit a receiver for picking up signals from Automatic Identification System transmitters on ships well out to sea, and determine how space-based reception is affected by interference between nearby transmitters and by environmental conditions.
- FOX (Flat heat-pipe on-orbit experiment) - to test whether flat heat pipes work in space in accordance with theoretical models and with tests on Earth
- IST (In-flight experiment of Solar absorption rate with THERME) - to acquire information about the effect of sunlight in space on thermal coatings, re-flying the THERME instrument developed by CNES for testing different thermal coatings [7]
- QCM (Quartz Crystal Microbalance) - to test whether a Japanese-manufactured quartz microbalance works well in monitoring contamination of the satellite from assembly to on-orbit operation.
