Raijin-2 (''Rising-2'') is a Japanese micro-
satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...
launched in 2014. The satellite is built around a 10 cm diameter, 1m focal length
Cassegrain telescope and features the following instruments:
* HPT - main telescope with 5m resolution at nadir, operating in visible and near-infrared bands
* BOL - bolometer array camera for cloud temperature measurement
* WFC - wide field-of-view CCD camera
* LSI-N and LSI-W - 2 CMOS medium field-of-view cameras for near-infrared imaging
* VLF-ANT, R - radio antenna to receive signatures of lighting events
All instruments are powered by GaAs solar cells mounted on the spacecraft body, with estimated electrical power of 47.6W. The spacecraft features an unusual central-pillar bus, inherited from the
Sprite-Sat satellite. The attitude control is done by means of reaction wheels and magneto-torquers, and qualified for 0.1 degrees angular accuracy.
Launch
RISING-2 was launched from
Tanegashima
is one of the Ōsumi Islands belonging to Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The island, 444.99 km2 in area, is the second largest of the Ōsumi Islands, and has a population of 33,000 people. Access to the island is by ferry, or by air to Ne ...
, Japan, on 24 May 2014 by a
H-IIA rocket
H-IIA (H-2A) is an active expendable launch system operated by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) for the JAXA, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. These liquid fuel rockets have been used to launch satellites into geostationary orbit; lunar ...
.
Mission
The satellite is intended for atmosphere research, especially for gathering statistics on cloud formation and the occurrence of
sprites in the upper atmosphere. Mission data are down-linked in S-band with maximal data rate of 38.4 kbit/s.
See also
*
2014 in spaceflight
In 2014, the maiden flight of the Angara A5, Antares 120 and Antares 130 took place.
A total of 92 orbital launches were attempted in 2014, of which 88 were successful, two were partially successful and two were failures. The year also saw ...
References
External links
RISING-2 mission equipmenteoPortal RISING-2 page
{{Orbital launches in 2014
Earth observation satellites of Japan
Spacecraft launched in 2014
Spacecraft launched by H-II rockets