The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is inviting the public to join an experiment to delivery St. Valentine's Day (14th February, 2010) messages space using the KIZUNA, Wideband InterNetworking engineering test and Demonstration Satellite (WINDS). JAXA will use a cloud computing system provided by SOFTBANK Telecom Corp, whose system will connect KIZUNA and a ground network system.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) performed a verification of regenerative switching functions between an ultra small-size user terminal (45 cm-diameter antenna) and a high-speed small ground station (1.2 m-diameter antenna) using the onboard multi-beam antenna*1 of "KIZUNA," and confirmed that Internet protocol (IP) communications with a transmission speed of 155 Mbps (155 Mega bit per second) were successfully performed. The verification was a part of the initial functional verification jointly conducted by JAXA and NICT between March 28 and April 7, 2008. It is especially noteworthy that the transmission speed of 155 Mbps from a satellite to an ultra small-size user terminal like the antenna of 45 cm in diameter is the fastest in the world.
At 4:00 p.m. on March 2, 2008 (JST), JAXA found an anomaly in the signal processing of the main system of the sensor that detects the direction of the Sun (Sun sensor) onboard the Wideband Internet working engineering test and Demonstration Satellite, KIZUNA (WINDS,) which was launched on February 23, 2008. Currently the satellite attitude is stably controlled with its Earth sensor (which detects the direction of the Earth) and the gyro. JAXA is investigating the cause of the anomaly while revising the operation process in order not to cause any trouble for the future operation of the satellite.
Since the launch on February 23, 2008 (Japan Standard Time, JST,) JAXA has been manoeuvring the KIZUNA (WINDS) satellite to inject it into its drift orbit by firing the apogee engine and 20N thruster. JAXA have now confirmed that the satellite was injected into its scheduled drift orbit as follows.
Result
Schedule
Apogee altitude
35,824 km
(35,822 km)
Perigee altitude
35,192 km
(35,222 km)
Orbit inclination
0.08 degrees
(0.09 degrees)
Period
23hours and 41minutes
(23 hours and 42minutes)
Drift rate
3.6 degrees/day East
(3.4 degrees/day East)
JAXA also confirmed that commands from Okinawa station for the deployment of the multi-beam antennas took place and were carried out at about 12:47 p.m. (JST) on March 1, 2008. The successful deployment was confirmed through telemetry data from the satellite and image data taken by the onboard camera. The satellite is reported to be in good health.
Saturday's successful launch by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency of the Kizuna, a satellite designed for high-speed Internet transmission, marked an end to government delays in putting planned satellites into orbit. The question to be explored now is what kind of satellite this nation should strive to build in the future.
Currently the satellite is orbiting the earth, it the satellite will reposition its orbit and enter a geosync orbit at 143 degrees East longitude, and about 36000 kilometres above the Earths surface.
Japan's space agency has launched an experimental communications satellite designed to enable super high-speed data transmission in remote areas. An H-2A rocket carrying the satellite Kizuna (Winds) was launched from the southern island of Tanegashima, about 1,000km (620 miles) south of Tokyo.
Japan has successfully launched the experimental Wideband InterNetworking engineering test and Demonstration Satellite (WINDS) on Saturday. The satellite is to provide internet access in remote parts of Japan and elsewhere in Asia. The H-2A rocket carrying the 2.7 tonne KIZUNA (WINDS) communications satellite launched from the Tanegashima space complex, at 5:55 p.m. (08:55 GMT).