Niwaka

Niwaka or FITSAT-1 is a 1U CubeSat satellite deployed from the International Space Station on October 4, 2012.

Niwaka
FITSAT-1 (middle)
Mission typeTechnology
OperatorFukuoka Institute of Technology
COSPAR ID1998-067CP
SATCAT no.38853
Mission duration21 months
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type1U CubeSat
Launch mass1.33 kilograms (2.9 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date21 July 2012, 02:06:18 UTC
RocketH-IIB
Launch siteTanegashima Yoshinobu 2
ContractorMitsubishi
Deployed fromISS Kibo
Delivered by Kounotori 3
Deployment date4 October 2012 (2012-10-04)
End of mission
Decay date4 July 2013 (2013-07-05)
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Eccentricity0
Perigee altitude413 kilometres (257 mi)
Apogee altitude418 kilometres (260 mi)
Inclination51.65 degrees
Period93 minutes
 

The Niwaka satellite includes high power LEDs which are driven by 200W pulses, allowing Morse code style communication from the sky to the ground.[1] FITSAT-1 (Niwaka) communicates with ground by means of 5.8 GHz high-speed (115200bit/s) transmitter. It also has a 437 MHz (amateur band) beacon and transmitter with data rate 1200bit/s for telemetry downlink. The name Niwaka derives from "Hakata Niwaka", which is traditional impromptu comical talking with masks. It is also the old name of the city Fukuoka, site of the Fukuoka Institute of Technology in Japan which created the satellite.[2] We-Wish, Raiko, FITSat 1, F 1, and TechEdSat travelled to orbit aboard HTV-3.[3]

It reentered the atmosphere on July 4, 2013.[4]

Launch
CubeSats deployed to orbit from the International Space Station on 4 October 2012 (from left: TechEdSat, F-1 and FITSAT-1).

See also

References
  1. FITSAT-1 satellite scheduled to write Morse code in the sky
  2. FITSAT
  3. We-Wish
  4. FITSAT-1 (NIWAKA)
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