Tsubame

Spacecraft nº:

Japanese spacecraft nº: 206

Launch data: Designation  40302 / 14070E Launch date  06 Nov 2014 - 07:35 UT Launch site  Do, LC-370/13 Launch vehicle  Dnepr Mission  X-Ray Astronomy Earth orbit: Perigee / Apogee  503 x 567 km Eccentricity   Inclination   97.47° Period  95.33 min

Spacecraft data:

Description:

• Tsubame is small satellite mission built by Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo University of Science and JAXA to measure polarization of hard X-ray photons (30-200 keV) from gamma-ray bursts using azimuthal angle anisotropy of Compton-scattered photons and to demonstrate new technologies.
• The objectives of Tsubame are as follows:
  • on-orbit demonstration of newly developed Micro Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs),
  • polarized gamma-ray burst (GRB) observation using a Hard X-Ray Compton Polarimeter (HXCP) and Wide field Burst Monitors (WBMs) with high-speed attitude maneuvering using Micro-CMGs,
  • Earth observation with a small high-resolution optical camera.

Mission details:

• Tsubame was launched piggy-back with a larger satellite and three other small satellites on a Dnepr rocket from the Yasni (Dombarovsky) cosmodrome on Nov.06, 2014.

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