EQUULEUS
EQUULEUS
EQUULEUS
EQUULEUS
EQUULEUS
Name EQUULEUS (Equilibrium Lunar-Earth point 6U Spacecraft)
Type CubeSat
Units or mass 6U
Status Operational (Press release on 2022-11-26, successful orbit maneuver, and active Twitter feed as of 2022-12-23)
Launched 2022-11-16
NORAD ID ? (Not yet catalogued and tracked?)
Deployer CSD (Canisterized Satellite Dispenser) [Planetary Systems Corporation]
Launcher SLS (Space Launch System) (Artemis-1)
Organisation JAXA
Institution Space agency
Entity Government (Civil / Military)
Nation Japan
Partners ArkEdge Space
Oneliner

Lunar L2 (libration-point) orbiter to demonstrate technologies and characterize environment.

Description

Lunar L2 (libration-point) orbiter. Demonstrate trajectory design and control techniques and the associated technologies in the Sun-Earth-Moon perturbed region by a nano-spacecraft; To study the radiation environment in the geospace; To characterize the flux of impacting meteors at the far side of the Moon. Water propulsion system. The scientific payload consists of PHOENIX, an extreme ultra violet imager to observe the Earth plasmasphere; DELPHINUS, a camera to detect lunar impacts on the dark side of the Moon; and CLOTH, a thin-film within the CubeSat's MLI (Multi-Layer Insulation) to detect small objects in the cis-lunar space.

ArkEdge Space was commissioned by the University of Tokyo, to participate in the initial operations of EQUULEUS in space, and contributed greatly to the completion of the initial operations and the transition to regular operations.

Results

EQUULEUS, a Nano-Explorer Heading for the Moon, Successfully Maneuvers Beyond Low Earth Orbit for the First Time in the World With a Water Thruster on Board.

Sources [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Photo sources [1] [2]
COTS subsystems
  • ADCS - Blue Canyon XACT-50
  • THRUSTER - Pale Blue
Subsystems sources [1] [2] [3]
Components sources [1]
Keywords Propulsion, Ka-band, Beyond Earth orbit
Space photos EQUULEUSEQUULEUSEQUULEUS

[1] [2] [3]

Last modified: 2023-06-09
Detailed EQUULEUS entry in the Database
Full Nanosats Database (much more data)

Feel free to connect at any time.

Created by Erik Kulu

Email: erik.kulu@nanosats.eu
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/erikkulu

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