TheInnovative 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 theJAXA 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.[1]
Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-1 was the first mission in the Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration Program. The mission included several spacecraft, the largest beingRAPIS-1, along with six smaller satellites. The call for proposals was announced in 2015, and selection results were announced in February 2016.[2] A total of 14 projects were selected; however a proposal byIHI Corporation, the "Demonstration experiment of an innovative ship information receiving system"[2] was later dropped, dropping the number of projects reaching space to 13. Seven projects were tested on board RAPIS-1, either as parts or components. Three projects flew as microsatellites, and three more asCubeSats.
Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-1 was successfully launched on 18 January 2019.[3] Payloads flown on the mission were tested in space for a year, and the operational data gained were given to the developers. The Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-1 marked the first multi-satellite launch byEpsilon launch vehicle.[4]
| Project | Type | Agency |
|---|---|---|
| NBFPGA | Part | NEC Corporation |
| HXTX / XMGA | Component | Keio University |
| ? | Component | IHI Corporation |
| GPRCS | Component | J-spacesystems |
| SPM | Component | J-spacesystems |
| DLAS | Component | Tokyo Institute of Technology |
| TMSAP | Component | JAXA |
| Fireant | Component | Chubu University |
| MicroDragon | Microsatellite | Keio University Vietnam National Space Center |
| RISESAT | Microsatellite | Tohoku University |
| ALE-1 | Microsatellite | ALE Co., Ltd. |
| OrigamiSat-1 | CubeSat | Tokyo Institute of Technology |
| Aoba VELOX-IV | CubeSat | Kyushu Institute of Technology |
| NEXUS | CubeSat | Nihon University |
RAPIS-1 (RAPid Innovative payload demonstration Satellite 1) is a satellite within Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-1 that demonstrated selected projects as either parts or components. Of the 13 projects, 7 were demonstrated on board RAPIS-1.
MicroDragon is amicrosatellite proposal submitted by Takashi Maeno ofKeio University.[2] It was developed by the VNSC (Vietnam National Satellite Center).
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Rapid International Scientific Experiment Satellite (RISESAT), previously called Hodoyoshi 2, was a microsatellite developed byTohoku University. It was equipped with scientific instruments that were selected on an international scale.[5] RISESAT was selected for the Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration Program to demonstrate highly precise attitude control and high resolution multispectral observation technology. RISESAT's high resolution multispectral camera was capable of measuring the growth rate and health of crops from space.[6] RISESAT'sremote sensing instrument, High Precision Telescope (HPT) utilizes aliquid crystal tunable filter.[7] RISESAT decayed from orbit on 14 March 2023.[8]
ALE-1, also known as ALEe, was a microsatellite for demonstrating the creation of artificialshooting stars. Built and operated byALE Co., Ltd., it was the company's first satellite. ALE-1 was equipped with a DOM2500deorbit mechanism manufactured by Nakashimada Engineering Works, Ltd.[9][10] The DOM2500 was a membrane sail 2.5 m × 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in × 8 ft 2 in) large when deployed, and was used by ALE-1 to lower its altitude to less than 400 km (250 mi), the optimal altitude to conduct its main mission.[11] However, ALE-1 failed to deploy its payload and remains in orbit.[12][13] The DOM2500 reentered the atmosphere on 3 August 2022,[14] and ALE-1 is expected to re-enter the atmosphere in October 2023.[15]
OrigamiSat-1 (COSPAR 2019-003B, SATCAT 43933) was a 3UCubeSat developed byTokyo Institute of Technology to demonstrate the deployment of large structures from a small, folded state. After being launched to an altitude of 500 km (310 mi), OrigamiSat-1 was designed to descend down to 400 km (250 mi), where it would deploy a 1m2 membrane.[16] The satellite decayed from orbit on 30 April 2022.[17]
Aoba VELOX-IV was a 2U CubeSat equipped with a low-light camera. It was jointly developed byKyushu Institute of Technology in Japan andNanyang Technological University (NTU) ofSingapore. The pulsed plasma thrusters developed by NTU gave the CubeSat maneuvering capabilities, a necessity for a future lunar mission, as the Moon'sirregular gravity field requires orbiters to perform orbit maintenance to extend its mission lifetime.[18] It had a design lifetime of 12 months in low Earth orbit.[19] The satellite decayed from orbit on 24 March 2023.[20]
NEXUS, short for NExt generation X Unique Satellite is a 1U CubeSat developed byNihon University. Anamateur radio satellite, it is equipped with a transmitter with half the power consumption and a data transmission rate per second 32 times larger than a traditional amateur radio transmitter. NEXUS will demonstratepacket radio in space.[21] The satellite decayed from orbit on 9 November 2023.[22]
The call for proposals for Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-2, the second mission of the program, was announced in July 2018, and selection results were announced in December of the same year.[23] There are nine satellites launching on this mission: theRAISE-2 smallsat, four microsatellites and four CubeSats. The microsatellitesHIBARI, Z-Sat andDRUMS are primarily for engineering tests. TeikyoSat-4, which was additionally selected in 2020, will conduct life science studies. The four CubeSats areASTERISC, ARICA,NanoDragon, andKOSEN-1.
The Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration 2 mission launched on 9 November 2021.
| Project | Type | Agency |
|---|---|---|
| SPR | Part | Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation |
| I-FOG | Component | Tamagawa Seiki Co., Ltd. |
| ASC | Component | Amanogi, Corp. |
| 3D-ANT | Component | Mitsubishi Electric |
| ATCD | Component | Tohoku University |
| MARIN | Component | JAXA |
| HIBARI | Microsatellite | Tokyo Institute of Technology |
| Z-Sat | Microsatellite | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries |
| DRUMS | Microsatellite | Kawasaki Heavy Industries |
| TeikyoSat-4 | Microsatellite | Teikyo University |
| ASTERISC | CubeSat | Chiba Institute of Technology |
| ARICA | CubeSat | Aoyama Gakuin University |
| Advanced OBC of NanoDragon | CubeSat | Meisei Electric |
| KOSEN-1 | CubeSat | National Institute of Technology, Kochi College |
Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-3's call for proposals was announced in January 2020, and in May 2020 JAXA announced the selection of 14 themes.[24] On 22 January 2021,Shizuoka University'sSTARS-X microsatellite was additionally selected, bringing the total number of themes to 15.[25] Among the 15 themes seven were on board theRAISE-3 smallsat, three are microsatellites and five were CubeSats. Of the three microsatellites, KOYOH will conduct astronomical observation of transient sources,PETREL will demonstrate a multispectral camera, and STARS-X will extend a 1 km longtether and collectspace debris. For the CubeSats,MAGNARO was to demonstrateformation flight,MITSUBA was to test the degrading ofCOTS semiconductor parts,KOSEN-2 was to collect marine observation data, andWASEDA-SAT-ZERO was to demonstrate an integrated satellite chassis.
On 19 April 2022, IHI Aerospace (IA), the manufacturer of Epsilon rocket announced that it signed a contract withiQPS for the launch of two satellites. IA said that the two satellites will be launched on the sixth launch of Epsilon.[26] In a subsequent press release JAXA announced that the two iQPS satellites will be launched together with Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-3, and that the three microsatellites originally manifested for the flight (KOYOH, PETREL, and STARS-X) will instead be launched on another rocket, which will be arranged by IA.[27] For IA, the contract with iQPS marked its first contract to launch a commercial satellite. IA was previously selected by JAXA as the launch service provider forEpsilon S, an upgraded version of Epsilon. IA described its contract with iQPS as a forerunner to commercial launches on Epsilon S.[26]
| Project | Agency | Planned re-flight mission |
|---|---|---|
| LEOMI | Nippon Telegraph and Telephone | 4 |
| SDRX | NEC Space Technologies, Ltd. | Did not prefer a re-flight |
| GEMINI | Mitsubishi Electric | 4 |
| KIR | Pale Blue | 4 |
| TMU-PPT | Advanced Technology Institute | 4 |
| D-SAIL | Axelspace [ja] | 4 |
| HELIOS | Sakase Adtech Co., Ltd. | 4 |
| KOYOH | Kanazawa University | - |
| PETREL | Tokyo Institute of Technology | - |
| STARS-X | Shizuoka University | - |
| MAGNARO | Nagoya University | 4 |
| MITSUBA | Kyushu Institute of Technology | 5 |
| KOSEN-2 | National Institute of Technology, Yonago College | 4 |
| WASEDA-SAT-ZERO | Waseda University | 4 |
| FSI-SAT | Future Science Institute | 4 |
TheEpsilon rocket carrying Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-3'sRAISE-3 and five CubeSats was launched on 12 October 2022. The launch resulted in failure and all the payloads and the launch vehicle were destroyed.[28]
KOYOH was launched successfully aboard SpaceXFalcon 9 rocket on 1 December 2023.[29]
Following the launch failure of the Epsilon rocket carryingRAISE-3 and the CubeSats selected for Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-3, each of the projects were given a re-flight opportunity in subsequent missions, exceptNEC Space Technologies, Ltd.'s SDRX, which declined the offer.[30]
The call for proposals for Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-4 was released by JAXA on 17 June 2022,[31] and in September 2022 threeCubeSats, KOSEN-3, OrigamiSat-2 and Mono-Nikko were selected.[32]
| Project | Agency |
|---|---|
| LEOMI | Nippon Telegraph and Telephone |
| GEMINI | Mitsubishi Electric |
| KIR-X | Pale Blue |
| TMU-PPT | Advanced Technology Institute |
| D-SAIL | Axelspace [ja] |
| HELIOS-R | Sakase Adtech Co., Ltd. |
| CF-CAM | Mach Corporation |
| AIRIS | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries |
| MAGNARO-II | Nagoya University |
| KOSEN-2R | National Institute of Technology, Yonago College |
| WASEDA-SAT-ZERO-II | Waseda University |
| OrigamiSat-2 | Tokyo Institute of Technology |
| Mono-Nikko | Di-Nikko Engineering Co., Ltd. |
| Prelude | Nihon University |
| ARICA-2 | Aoyama Gakuin University |
| Project | Agency |
|---|---|
| MITSUBA-R | Kyushu Institute of Technology |
| KOSEN-3 | National Institute of Technology, Kagawa College |
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