Space Flyer Unit
Encyclopedia
The was a spacecraft which was launched by Japan
on Mar. 18, 1995.
from a H-2 vehicle. It was carrying testing materials and research data that held value to NASA. They retrieved the data from the Space Flyer Unit by Space Shuttle Endeavour
on Jan. 20th, 1996 (which was 10 months after the Space Flyer Unit was launched. The idea behind the implementation of the SFU was a joint effort by multiple major corporations. The ones that were involved with the launch were Institute of Space and Astronautical Science
, the National Space Development Agency
, and Ministry of International Trade and Industry
.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on Mar. 18, 1995.
Technical data
The Space Flyer Unit was launched from Tanegashima Space CenterTanegashima Space Center
The is one of Japan's space development facilities. It is located on Tanegashima, an island located 115 km south of Kyūshū. It was established in 1969 when the National Space Development Agency of Japan was formed...
from a H-2 vehicle. It was carrying testing materials and research data that held value to NASA. They retrieved the data from the Space Flyer Unit by Space Shuttle Endeavour
STS-72
STS-72 was a Space Shuttle Endeavour mission to capture and return to Earth a Japanese microgravity research spacecraft known as Space Flyer Unit...
on Jan. 20th, 1996 (which was 10 months after the Space Flyer Unit was launched. The idea behind the implementation of the SFU was a joint effort by multiple major corporations. The ones that were involved with the launch were Institute of Space and Astronautical Science
Institute of Space and Astronautical Science
is a Japanese national research organization of astrophysics using rockets, astronomical satellites and interplanetary probes. It is a division of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency .- History :...
, the National Space Development Agency
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
The , or JAXA, is Japan's national aerospace agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on October 1, 2003, as an Independent Administrative Institution administered by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and the...
, and Ministry of International Trade and Industry
Ministry of International Trade and Industry
The Ministry of International Trade and Industry was one of the most powerful agencies of the Government of Japan. At the height of its influence, it effectively ran much of Japanese industrial policy, funding research and directing investment...
.
Purpose
The original purposes behind the SFU were to- Allow researchers better access to space research conditions.
- Give researchers a group experimental facility.
- Be able to reuse the SFU to save money
- Retrieve data
Technology
A variety of systems that were operational within the SFU had never been implemented before. Equipment on board allowed them to use infrared telescope, two-dimensional solar array, high voltage solar array, space plasma diagnosis, electric propulsion, material experimentation, gas dynamics, gradient heating chemicals, isothermal heating furnace and more. The core system that was built into the SFU contained an octagonal aluminum truss. Inside of that were eight boxes of trapezoidal shape. The SFU was connected directly to the Kagoshima Space Center.Experimentation data
There were a number of various types of experiments that were performed on board the SFU during its launch life cycle. Those experiments, and light data related to them are listed below.- Infrared Telescope in Space (IRTS) - The IRTS experiment was performed by the infrared telescope that was aboard the SFU. The intent was to produce important information into the history of the universe and structure of the milky way galaxy. The telescope had a super fluid helium cooling fan built into it to prevent it from overheating.
- 2D Array - The 2d array system was launched as a small module inside of the SFU. This experiment was deployed to show that large structures could (in fact) be built in space.
- HVSA - The Solar Array was a power source put into this system to head up multiple experiments. It's used to test the creation of "electricity" in the denseness of space from the use of technology only.
- SPDP - This was used on the SFU to test things going really fast in space. SPDP stands for (Space Plasma Diagnostic Package) and it was deployed with different sensors to check the effects of speed on the denseness of gravity.
- EPEX - This hardware that was built into the SFU was meant to do experiments related to fuel creation and management in space.
- MEX - This software was meant to review and research the effects of various types of liquid within a space environment.
- BIO - This test required taking live species in space. It was based around seeing the results of an egg hatching within deep space.