WEOS

Japan

Spacecraft n°:

Japanese spacecraft n°: 107

WEOS= Whale Ecology Observation Satellite, also called Kantakun.

Launch data:

Designation	27599 / 02056C
Launch date	14 Dec 2002 - 01:31 UT
Launch site	Tanegashima
Launch vehicle	H-2A 202 (#11)
Mission	Scientific: ecology
Sun-synchronous Earth orbit:
Perigee/Apogee	800 km, sun-synchronous
Inclination	98.7°
Period	100.8 min

Owned by the Chiba Institute of Technology, Japan.

The satellite tracks whales which have transponders attached. These devices have a data recorder for GPS position, sea temperature and depth. Data is transferred when the whale surfaces and the spacecraft is overhead.

Specifications

Prime contractor	Chiba Institute of Technology
Platform
Mass at launch	58 kg
Mass in orbit
Dimension	50 cm cube
Solar array
Stabilization	3 m gravity gradient
DC power
Design lifetime

Has an S-band payload for TT&C
Communications with the devices in UHF

Ref: #7, #15 - update: 04.03.10