Space Flyer Unit
| Space Flyer Unit | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Research satellite |
| Country: |
 Japan
|
| Operator: | NASDA |
| COSPAR-ID : | 1995-011A |
| Mission dates | |
| Dimensions: | 4000 kg |
| Size: | Diameter 4.7 m; Height 2.8 m (without solar panels) |
| Begin: | March 18, 1995, 08:01 UTC |
| Starting place: | Tanegashima Y-1 |
| Launcher: | H-II F-3 |
| Landing: | January 20, 1996, 07:41 UTC |
| Landing place: | Kennedy Space Center |
| Flight duration: | 308 days |
| Orbit data | |
| Rotation time : | 92.2 min |
| Orbit inclination : | 28.4 ° |
| Apogee height : | 415 km |
| Perigee height : | 345 km |
The Space Flyer Unit is a Japanese reusable research satellite. In its only mission to date, the SFU was launched with a Japanese rocket and captured again by the US space shuttle .
development
The SFU was developed from 1987 by three Japanese authorities: New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) and National Space Development Agency (NASDA).
construction
drive
The SFU has two separate drive systems. The Reaction Control System (RCS) with 4 engines with 23 N thrust and 12 engines with 3 N thrust is used for position control. The second system is called OCT (Orbit Change Thruster) and is used to change the orbit. It has eight engines with 23 N thrust each. Both systems use hydrazine as fuel, a total of 750 kg in eight tanks.
Experiments
The SFU carried out several experiments on its first mission:
- 2DSA (Two Dimensional Solar Array Experiments)
- BIO (Space Biology Experiment)
- EFFU (Exposed Facility Flyer Unit)
- EPEX (Electric Propulsion Experiment)
- GDEF (Gas Dynamic Experiment Facility)
- GHF (Gradient Heating Furnace Experiment)
- HVSA (High Voltage Solar Array Experiment)
- IHF (Isothermal Heating Furnace Experiment)
- IRTS ( Infrared Telescope in Space ), an infrared telescope that was cooled with liquid helium.
- MEX (Material Experiment in Space)
- MHF (Mirror Heating Furnace Experiment)
- SPDP (Space Plasma Diagnostic Package)
Mission history
On March 18, 1995, the SFU was brought into orbit 330 km above earth by an H-II rocket, where the solar cells were unfolded. The OCT engines then brought the SFU to an operating altitude of 486 km in several days. The experiments were carried out there.
The experiments were returned to Earth by the Space Shuttle Endeavor during the STS-72 mission , in which the Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata also took part. The Endeavor launched on January 11, 1996 and approached SFU on January 13. The SFU's solar cells were folded in, but did not fully engage. After several unsuccessful attempts, they were blown off for safety reasons in order to avoid a sudden opening in the cargo bay of the space shuttle. Commander Brian Duffy flew the Endeavor so close to the SFU that Wakata was able to grab the satellite with a robotic arm and maneuver it into the cargo bay. This maneuver ended at 11:39 UTC . The Endeavor landed at the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center on January 20th .
Web links
- ISAS: SFU ( Memento from June 24, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
- JAXA: Space Flyer Unit Micrometeoroid & Space Debris Impact Database (English)
- NASA: STS-72 Day 3 Highlights (english)
Individual evidence
- ↑ SFU in the NSSDCA Master Catalog , accessed October 11, 2012.
- ^ SFU: Space Flyer Unit. (No longer available online.) Institute for Unmanned Space Experiment Free Flyer (USEF), formerly the original ; accessed on October 30, 2012 (English): "Development started in 1987 as a cooperative project among three Japanese governmental agencies: MITI / NEDO, MOE / ISAS and STA / NASDA"
- ^ Furukawa, Fujita, Yamada, Nagatomo: Development of a Propulsion System for the Space Fyler Unit (SFU). (PDF; 742 kB) In: Technical Review Vol.34 No.1. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, February 1997, pp. 30-34 , archived from the original on July 2, 2013 ; accessed on October 30, 2012 (English).