SERVIS-2, or Space Environment Reliability Verification Integrated System 2, is a Japanese technological research
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 radioisotope ...
which was launched in 2010. It was constructed by
Mitsubishi Electric
, established on 15 January 1921, is a Japanese multinational electronics and electrical equipment manufacturing company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi. The products from MELCO include elevators an ...
, and will be operated by the
Institute for Unmanned Space Experiment Free Flyer
The was a Japanese space agency, which was founded by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry in 1986. Unlike NASDA, ISAS, and NAL, it was not included in the JAXA organization, which was founded in 2003. The chairperson is Ichiro Ta ...
, USEF.
It follows on from the
SERVIS-1
SERVIS-1, or Space Environment Reliability Verification Integrated System 1, is a Japanese satellite designed for testing the performance of commercial off-the-shelf products in the space environment. It has a mass of about 840 kg, and was la ...
spacecraft, which was launched in 2003.
Launch
The launch of SERVIS-2 was conducted by
Eurockot
Eurockot Launch Services GmbH is a commercial spacecraft launch provider and was founded in 1995. Eurockot uses an expendable launch vehicle called the Rockot to place satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO). Eurockot is jointly owned by ArianeGroup ...
, using a
Rokot carrier rocket with a
Briz-KM
The Briz-K, Briz-KM and Briz-M (russian: Бриз-К, КM and M meaning ''Breeze-K, KM and M'') are Russian liquid-propellant rocket orbit insertion upper stages manufactured by Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center and used on t ...
upper stage. The launch occurred from
Site 133/3 at the
Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia. Eurockot, who were also responsible for launching the SERVIS-1 spacecraft, were awarded the contract to launch SERVIS-2 on 21 February 2007.
SERVIS-2 arrived at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome on 26 April 2010. Prior to launch, the spacecraft underwent final testing and fuelling, and was subsequently attached to its launch adaptor on 22 May. This was attached to the upper stage the next day, and the day after that the spacecraft was encapsulated in the
payload fairing
A payload fairing is a nose cone used to protect a spacecraft payload against the impact of dynamic pressure and aerodynamic heating during launch through an atmosphere. An additional function on some flights is to maintain the cleanroom environm ...
.
Under terminology used by Eurockot, as well as several other
launch service providers, the combination of spacecraft, adaptor, upper stage and fairing was designated the Upper Composite.
This was transported to the launch pad on 27 May
for integration with the first two stages of the rocket.
The launch occurred successfully at 01:59 UTC on 2 June 2010.
Spacecraft
SERVIS-2 is a spacecraft, which measures . It is intended to conduct experiments related to the demonstration of technology to be used in future missions, particularly research into the use of
commercial off-the-shelf
Commercial off-the-shelf or commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) products are packaged or canned (ready-made) hardware or software, which are adapted aftermarket to the needs of the purchasing organization, rather than the commissioning of ...
equipment. The spacecraft has a design life of one year, and its
Solar panel
A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a photo ...
s will provide it with at least 1,300 watts of power.
SERVIS-2 operates in a
Sun-synchronous low Earth orbit
A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never mor ...
, at an altitude of and an
inclination
Orbital inclination measures the tilt of an object's orbit around a celestial body. It is expressed as the angle between a Plane of reference, reference plane and the orbital plane or Axis of rotation, axis of direction of the orbiting object ...
of 100.4 degrees.
Experiments
Nine experiments are being conducted by SERVIS-2. They are mostly described (in Japanese) in a special edition of
Uchu Kagaku Gijutsu Rengo Koenkai Koenshu (Proceedings of the Space Sciences and Technology Conference).
The Commercial Parts Test Unit on SERVIS-2 is carrying 4Mbit and 8Mbit SRAM chips, 256Mbit and 512Mbit DRAM chips, 128kbit SOI SRAM chips made on a 180 nm process, and NOR-type 128Mbit flash memory chips.
See also
*
2010 in spaceflight
The year 2010 saw a number of notable events in worldwide spaceflight activities. These included the first test flight of the SpaceX Dragon commercial resupply spacecraft, which is intended to resupply the International Space Station (ISS), a ...
References
{{Mitsubishi Electric
Satellites of Japan
Spacecraft launched in 2010
Mitsubishi Electric products, services and standards