Monday, May 17, 2010

JAXA was due to take another important step forward in its informal Operationally Responsive Space Program (ORS) (dubbed SOD, or Space on Demand, by some sources) this morning with the test of J-POD, the JAXA Picosatellite Deployer, on board the PLANET-C/ Akatsuki Venus climate monitoring mission and the IKAROS (Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation of the Sun) solar sail test mission.

While the media has focused on Akatsuki and IKAROS, this latest outing by the H-2A (H-2A F17) is strategically significant in the testing of next generation ORS technologies through J-POD, that is to say, the ability to sprinkle/disperse micro- and picosatellites into different orbits.

It’s the J-POD, not the PPOD, that’s most the most interesting part of this mission from a strategic perspective as it is imperative that Japan continue to develop and test micro- and picosatellite deployment technologies and scenarios for the ASR/Epsilon. Also J-POD and future iterations will also allow the MOD or other stakeholders to discretely launch and deploy future warfighting and counterspace payloads. These may or may not be embedded in civilian formation flying missions, etc. Since the MOD has shown a strong interest in microsatellites for SSA and ORS, it’s important that Japan keep on running these dual-use technology demonstrator programs.

In today’s attempted launch (currently postponed because of icing fears) J-POD will release three small secondary payloads: WASEDA-SAT2, K-Sat and Negai, before injecting Akatsuki into Venus transfer orbit. The H-IIA will continue its coast flight and separate the IKAROS and UNISEC’s UNITEC-1 from the Payload Attach Fitting (PAF900M).

The growing prowess of JAXA in injecting completely heterogeneous missions into very different orbits is duly noted.

Also, let’s not forget the satellites themselves, part of Japan’s thriving and bubbling microsatellite building knowledge infrastructure, which truly seems to be burgeoning. This set of missions is interesting from a number of angles. Firstly we now have non-elite universities developing picosatellite technology- both Negai, by Soka University and K-Sat by Kagoshima Universities are 1kg-class picosats. K-Sat is interesting because despite being only a single unit CubeSat, it will be able to perform multiple (if simple) missions, including studying water vapor in the Earth’s atmosphere, and conduct microwave imagery and spacecraft communications tests.

Waseda-SAT2 is much more interesting in that it will perform both an EO mission and test the use of attitude control with the use of extendible paddles. The importance of this hardly needs stating.