Gundam

Gundam
Gundam
Spacecraft name Gundam
Spacecraft type CubeSat
Units or mass 3U
Entity name University of Tokyo
Institution University
Entity Government (Civil / Military)
Headquarters Japan
Manufacturer AIVT by University of Tokyo
Operator University of Tokyo
Partners Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
Oneliner

Satellite to celebrate Tokyo 2020 Olympics carrying toy figures and taking photos of a screen with Earth in the background.

Description

Based on the design of the TRICOM-1R the Tokyo 2020 “G-SATELLITE” will be taken to the International Space Station (ISS) by rocket in March 2020 and launched from there sometime between March 2020 and April 2020.

The “G-SATELLITE” will ferry a cubicle carrying the two animated figures, Gundam and Zaku, along with an electric bulletin board, which will appear once the satellite reaches a proper orbit. Additionally, seven of the satellite’s cameras will record their movements.

The “G-SATELLITE” will orbit Earth, broadcast images of our planet, film the animated figures, and display messages on the electric bulletin board for most of the Tokyo 2020 Games, which will take place from July 24 to Aug. 9.

Since the “G-SATELLITE” is small, the Gundam and Zaku figures will need to be resized and made with special materials and paints that can survive harsh space conditions. Before they launch, they will undergo multiple tests, including impact and vibration assessments, to make sure they’re ready to leave Earth’s atmosphere. Even though more details on the animated figures will be announced later this year, they will have eyes that can change to each of the five Olympic colors.

Sources [1]
Photo sources [1] [2]

Related Spacecraft

Satellite Status Launcher Launch date Orbit
Gundam (G-Satellite, G-Sat) Reentry 2022-04-18. Was operational? (No public sources found as of 2020-09-24) Falcon 9, (CRS-20) 2020-03-07 400 km, 51.6 deg, ISS
Gundam 2 (G-Satellite 2, G-Sat, BD-28) Reentry 2022-09-15. No signal? (Olympics has started and lack of successful mission confirmations) Falcon 9, (ELaNa 36) 2021-06-03 400 km, 51.6 deg, ISS

Last modified: 2023-06-09

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Created by Erik Kulu

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