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HIBARI is a space mission by Japan for a microsatellite that would test a new attitude control (orientation) method to achieve high accuracy pointing for its small telescope, and was launched on 9 November 2021 by an Epsilon launch vehicle as part of the Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration Program-2 mission.[1] The key technology to be tested on HIBARI is called "Variable Shape Attitude Control" (VSAC), and it is based on reaction torque by rotating its four solar array paddles.
| Operator | Tokyo Institute of Technology |
|---|---|
| COSPAR ID | 2021-102F |
| SATCAT no. | 49400 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | Tokyo Institute of Technology |
| Launch mass | 55 kg (121 lb) |
| Dimensions | 50 × 50 × 50 cm (20 × 20 × 20 in) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 9 November 2021, 00:55 UTC |
| Rocket | Epsilon (No. 5) |
| Launch site | Uchinoura Space Center |
| Contractor | JAXA |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit (planned) |
| Regime | Sun-synchronous orbit |
| Perigee altitude | 560 km (350 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 560 km (350 mi) |
| Inclination | 97.6° |
| Instruments | |
| Ultraviolet telescope | |
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HIBARI is a space mission by the Japanese scientists from the Tokyo Institute of Technology to develop high pointing stability and agile maneuvering of a small satellite by using reaction torque of the satellite's structure.[2][3] This technology, first presented in 2016,[4] is hoped to substitute the use of reaction wheels and control moment gyroscopes (CMG), which arguably have difficulty achieving both agility and stability simultaneously.[2] This capability would be useful for a very fast response to observe in the direction of gravitational waves or other transient astrophysical phenomena.[3]
The spacecraft is a 55 kg (121 lb) microsatellite configured in a 50 cm (20 in) cube,[3] where half of it would carry a small ultraviolet telescope to verify the pointing stability (< 10 𝑎𝑟𝑐𝑠𝑒𝑐2) and accuracy of the VSAC system. The orientation high accuracy would be achieved by rotating the arms of its four solar arrays in an orthogonal axis.[2] Solar cells would be mounted on both sides of each of four solar array paddles.[3]
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