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Shin'en,[2] known before launch asUNITEC-1 orUNISEC Technology Experiment Carrier 1, is a Japanese student spacecraft which was intended to make a flyby ofVenus in order to study the effects of interplanetaryspaceflight onspacecraft computers. In doing so, it was intended to become the first student-built spacecraft to operate beyondgeocentric orbit. It was operated by University Space Engineering Consortium (UNISEC), a collaboration between several Japanese universities.
It was launched on 20 May 2010 and contact was lost shortly after.[3][4]
Shin'en measures 30 by 35 centimetres (12 by 14 in),[5] and has a mass of 20 kilograms (44 lb).[1] It has noattitude control or stabilisation system.[6] Power was to be provided bysolar cells attached to the outside of the spacecraft, which were to produce around 25 Watts of electricity.[5]
The primary payload ofShin'en consists of six university-built computers, which were to be tested ininterplanetary space for robustness against the radiation and extremes of temperature. The spacecraft also carries a camera, and a radiation counter.[6] In order to simplify the system and reduce cost, a low power communications system was used. It was to broadcast acontinuous wave with a data transfer rate of onebit per second.[7] UNISEC has invitedamateur radio operators to assist in collecting data from the spacecraft.[8]
Shin'en was successfully launched from Pad 1 of theYoshinobu Launch Complex at theTanegashima Space Centre, at 21:58:22 UTC on 20 May 2010. It was being launched as a secondary payload aboard anH-IIA 202 rocket, with the primary payload being theAkatsuki spacecraft bound for Venus. TheIKAROSsolar sail experiment was also deployed from the same rocket on a trajectory towards Venus. Three other student spacecraft;Waseda-SAT2,K-Sat andNegai ☆ were also launched, however they separated from the rocket whilst it was still orbiting the Earth.Shin'en was the last spacecraft to separate from the rocket. The launch was conducted byMitsubishi Heavy Industries on behalf of theJapan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
The H-IIA rocket was rolled out to the launch pad on 16 May 2010, departing the assembly building at 21:01 UTC and arriving at the launch pad 24 minutes later at 21:25 UTC,[9] in preparation for a launch scheduled at 21:44:14 UTC on 17 May. The terminal countdown began at 11:30 UTC on 17 May and by 15:28, the loading ofcryogenic propellant into the rocket's first and second stages had been completed.[9] This launch attempt was scrubbed a few minutes before the scheduled launch time due to bad weather.
Following launch,Shin'en separated from the carrier rocket into aheliocentric orbit. It was planned to fly past Venus six or seven months into its mission.
Signals from the craft were briefly detected after launch, but contact was then lost.[3] The last signals were received at 15:43 UTC on 21 May 2010, when the spacecraft was 320,000 kilometres (200,000 mi) from Earth.[10] UNISEC explains thatShin'en is the first student spacecraft to pass over theVan Allen radiation belt.Shin'en was expected to be near Venus as of December 2010.[11]
Missions are ordered by launch date.† indicates failure en route or before any data returned.‡ indicates use of the planet as agravity assist en route to another destination.
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).
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