QPS Institute Co., Ltd.
January 17, 2024 (Wednesday) The first image (first light) from QPS Research Institute’s small SAR satellite No. 5 “Tsukuyomi-I” will be released.
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QPS Laboratories Co., Ltd. (Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City, Representative Director, President and CEO: Shunsuke Onishi, hereinafter referred to as QPS Laboratories), which develops and operates world-class small SAR (*1) satellites, announced on January 17, 2024 ( On Wednesday, we will release the first image (first light (*2)) of the small SAR satellite QPS-SAR No. 5 “Tsukuyomi-I”. Following QPS-SAR 6
Amateru-III, the first commercial aircraft launched in June 2023, Tsukuyomi-I is the second commercial aircraft to construct a satellite constellation (*3). It becomes.
“Tsukuyomi-I”, which was developed and manufactured by QPS Research Institute together with more than 25 partner companies nationwide mainly in northern Kyushu, will be launched in December 2023 by Rocket Lab’s rocket “Electron (mission name: The Moon God Awakens)”. It was launched at 1:05 p.m. (Japan time) on Friday, April 15th, and 57 minutes later was inserted into orbit at an altitude of approximately 575 km and an orbital inclination of 42 degrees. Forty minutes later, the first communication was successful, and the retractable antenna was deployed on the morning of the following Saturday, December 16th. After that, we continued to fine-tune the satellite equipment, and today, about a month after the launch, we finally released the images we acquired.
After this, while continuing to adjust the satellite’s attitude control, we will begin observations in high-resolution mode with azimuth (*4) and range (*5) resolutions of 46 cm, the same as “Amatel-III.”
(*1) SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar): A radar that uses radio waves to obtain images of the earth’s surface. Its unique feature is that it can penetrate clouds and volcanic smoke and can be observed day and night.
(*2) First light: Refers to the first image. The image data released is the first test data that was confirmed while testing and adjusting the satellite’s functions.
(*3) A system that enables high-frequency earth observation through the cooperation of multiple artificial satellites. (Constellation means “zodiac sign.”)
(*4) Azimuth: The direction of movement of the satellite.
(*5) Range: The direction in which satellite microwaves are
irradiated. Or in a direction perpendicular to the satellite’s progress.
[First light details]
Observation date and time
1. January 16, 2024 (Wednesday) 18:11 (Japan time)
2. January 15, 2024 (Monday) 14:46 (Japan time)
3. January 13, 2024 (Sat) 19:44 (Japan time)
Observation location
1. Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture (weather at the time of observation: sunny, cloud cover 70-80%)
2. Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture (weather at time of observation: rain) 3. Near Kanmon Straits, Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture (weather at time of observation: cloudy to showers)
*All weather information is from public data from the Japan
Meteorological Agency.
resolution
1. Azimuth resolution 1.8m x range resolution 49cm (off-nadir angle 27.7 degrees)
2. Azimuth resolution 1.8m x range resolution 50cm (off-nadir angle 26.9 degrees)
3. Azimuth resolution 1.8m x range resolution 57cm (off-nadir angle 23.7 degrees)
Supplementary image explanation
“Tsukuyomi-I” can observe in normal mode (strip map mode) with a resolution of 1.8 m and high-definition mode (spotlight mode) with a resolution of 46 cm, and this time it will be observed in normal mode. [First light SAR image]
QPS-SAR will conduct experimental observations while gradually increasing the radio wave output during the initial operation stage, and will gradually adjust the output to a value that allows steady observation. The image of Hiroshima city in 1. is an image observed using the steady output of “Tsukuyomi-I”. 2. Noto City was observed at about 1/2 of the output, which is currently being adjusted, and 3. Kitakyushu City Kanmon Strait was observed at about 1/4 of the output, but we have now released it together with 1. Hiroshima City. Masu. *For an enlarged version, please see the image posted on our website’s news page (https://i-qps.net/news/news/1693).
1. Entire Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture. You can see the rich nature brought about by the ocean, mountains, and rivers, and the characteristics of Hiroshima, the city of water, where six wide rivers flow through the city.
[Image 1: https://prtimes.jp/i/49970/48/resize/d49970-48-c6884b3de3a136deb6ca-0.jpg&s3=49970-48-867e91f0cfe01c29954394d2496c403c-2500×1074.jpg] Enlarged location 1.-1: Near Hiroshima Castle
[Image 2: https://prtimes.jp/i/49970/48/resize/d49970-48-3acad7962b8d9c16f9c7-2.jpg&s3=49970-48-26dfd713ecf4aaa7ff1df80ab8a64737-2265×2265.jpg] Enlarged location 1.-2: Cars lined up at the port
[Image 3: https://prtimes.jp/i/49970/48/resize/d49970-48-416d0ba103e6b7725363-2.jpg&s3=49970-48-5d069faa5a958eee97d02ae348944722-2500×2500.jpg] 2. Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture. The Wajima city area where the Kawarada River flows in the center of the image. Because Tsukuyomi-I is placed in an inclined orbit, it can observe a wider area of the coast extending from east to west than in a sun-synchronous orbit.
[Image 4: https://prtimes.jp/i/49970/48/resize/d49970-48-55029b397530bc62bcf9-3.jpg&s3=49970-48-8d0a5be3f0eb2396a53bc03a053c4444-2500×982.jpg] 3.With Kanmon Bridge in the center, Moji Ward, Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture is on the right, and Shimonoseki City, Prefecture is on the left. You can clearly see ships passing by and cranes at the port.
[Image 5: https://prtimes.jp/i/49970/48/resize/d49970-48-b2eae11b55773cfc4930-4.jpg&s3=49970-48-cef13b97906aee52eb850e7b9feff01e-2403×2148.jpg] [Comment from Shunsuke Onishi, Representative Director, President and CEO] “Tsukuyomi-I, the second commercial aircraft, was able to perform its initial operations smoothly without any major troubles, and we are very happy that we were able to release the first images approximately one month after launch, and we are very happy to share this with the operations team and others. I would like to thank everyone involved. “Tsukuyomi-I” is placed in an inclined orbit and passes over the same point five or six times a day in mid-latitudes, including Japan, so it has a higher number of observations compared to satellites orbiting in a sun-synchronous orbit. This will enable observations from various directions, and will have important implications for the
near-real-time data provision service we are aiming for. After this, we will continue to steadily move forward step by step toward observation in high-definition mode with 46 cm resolution. ” Company Profile
Company name: QPS Institute Co., Ltd. (TSE Growth Market Securities code: 5595) Head office address: 6th floor, Rengo Fukuoka Tenjin Building, 1-15-35 Tenjin, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City
Representative: Shunsuke Onishi, Representative Director, President and CEO Founded: June 2005
URL: https://i-qps.net/
Business details: Research and development, design, manufacturing, and sales of satellites, satellite-mounted equipment, precision equipment, electronic equipment, and software.
QPS Institute is a space development venture company founded in Fukuoka in 2005. The name QPS is an acronym for “Q-shu Pioneers of Space,” and we hope to become a pioneer in the Kyushu space industry and contribute to the development of the space industry in Japan and the world from Kyushu. is included. As the name suggests, it is a team of honorary professors and young engineers and businessmen who are pioneers who have been involved in satellite development and space debris initiatives both domestically and internationally, based on the technology of small satellite development at Kyushu University. Together, we are developing space technology.
QPS Research Institute has successfully developed the 100 kg high-definition small SAR satellite “QPS-SAR” at 1/20th the mass and 1/100th the cost of conventional SAR satellites, and currently operates two commercial aircraft. , provides world-class SAR images that can be observed with high resolution and high image quality even at night or in bad weather. After this, we will continue to launch multiple satellites every year, and in 2027 we will build a satellite constellation (*2) of 24 satellites, and finally 36 satellites, and provide near-real-time ground observation data services every 10 minutes on average. We aim to provide In addition, QPS Institute’s business is strongly supported by more than 25 partner companies across the country, mainly in northern Kyushu, where our founders have inherited and cultivated space technology.
More details about this release:
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000048.000049970.html