Raijin-2
Raijin-2 (Rising-2) is a Japanese micro-satellite 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
| Names | Rising-2 SpriteSat |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Earth observation |
| Operator | Tohoku University |
| COSPAR ID | 2014-029D |
| SATCAT no. | 39769 |
| Website | At tohoku.ac.jp |
| Mission duration | 6 years, 8 months and 2 days (ongoing) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Launch mass | 42 kg (93 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 03:05, May 24, 2014 (UTC) |
| Rocket | H-IIA 202 |
| Launch site | Tanegashima Space Center |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Eccentricity | 0.0013 |
| Perigee altitude | 629.8 km (391.3 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 647.4 km (402.3 mi) |
| Inclination | 97.9° |
| Period | 97.5 min |
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, Japan, on 24 May 2014 by a H-IIA rocket.
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.