RAISE-2 & Others | Epsilon | Everyday Astronaut

Featured image credit: JAXA

Lift Off Time	November 9th, 2021 – 00:55 UTC \| 09:55 JST
Mission Name	RAISE-2 & Others
Launch Provider (What rocket company launched it?)	Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
Customer (Who paid for this?)	Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
Rocket	Epsilon
Launch Location	Mu Pad, Uchinoura Space Center, Japan
Payload mass	337 kg (743 Ib)
Where did the satellites go?	560 km Sun-Synchronous Orbit at a 97.6° inclination
Did they attempt to recover the first stage?	No, this is not a capability of Epsilon
Where did the first stage land?	It crashed into the Pacific ocean
Did they attempt to recover the fairings?	No, this is not a capability of Epsilon
Were these fairings new?	Yes
This was the:	– 1st mission of JAXA in 2021 – 5th mission of the Epsilon rocket – 108th orbital launch attempt of 2021 (101st successful)
Where to re-watch	First attempt (scrubbed) Second attempt (scrubbed) Third attempt (successful)

How did it go?

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully launched the RAISE-2 & Others mission, which deployed nine technology demonstration satellites into 560 km Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO), at a 97.6° inclination. The mission lifted off from the Mu Pad at the Uchinoura Space Center in Japan and marked the fifth flight of the Epsilon rocket.

Initially, the liftoff was scheduled for October 1, 2021, at 00:51 UTC (9:51 JST), however, the launch was scrubbed due to a malfunction found in the ground station. The second attempt was scheduled for October 7, at 00:51 UTC (9:51 JST) but was scrubbed due to strong upper-level winds.

RAISE-2 & Others Mission

Payload

As a part of the second Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration program, this rideshare mission carried nine satellites into space. Among them were one smallsat (RAISE-2), four microsatellites (HIBARI, Z-Sat, DRUMS, TeikyoSat-4), and four CubeSats (ASTERISC, ARICA, NanoDragon, KOSEN-1).

RAISE-2

RAISE-2 (RApid Innovative payload demonstration Satellite-2) is a 75x100x100 cm smallsat with a mass of 110 kg (to better imagine the size, 100 cm is a length of a typical guitar). This satellite is developed, manufactured, and operated by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. According to the press-release, it will test and provide experimental data from six new demonstration devices (3D-ANT, ASC, ATCD, I-FOG, MARIN, and SPR) hosted on the RAISE-2 that were selected by open recruitment.

HIBARI

HIBARI is a 59x59x55 cm microsatellite with a mass of 55 kg, developed by Tokyo Institute of Technology. This microsat will demonstrate a new attitude control technology, operation of the ultraviolet camera, and real-time communication.

Z-Sat

Z-Sat is another 50x50x51 cm microsat with a mass of 46 kg, developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. This satellite will take images simultaneously at multiple wavelengths using its near-infrared and far-infrared cameras. By superimposing the acquired images, this technology will help to detect the position and temperature of heat sources more accurately. Overall, it will be one of the steps to develop an orbital constellation for monitoring terrestrial infrastructures.

DRUMS

DRUMS is the third microsat that was launched on the RAISE-2 & Others rideshare mission. This 59x60x84 cm satellite with a mass of 62 kg was developed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and will be used to demonstrate the debris removal technology in orbit. For that, a small target (debris) will be released, approached, and finally captured.

TeikyoSat-4

TeikyoSat-4 is a 55x55x55 micro satellite with a mass of 52 kg, developed by Teikyo University. It will test a new spacecraft bus platform capable of autonomously performing different experiments.

CubeSats: ASTERISC, ARICA, NanoDragon, KOSEN-1

ASTERISC (11x11x34 cm, 4 kg, Chiba Institute of Technology), ARICA (10x10x11 cm, 1 kg, Aoyama Gakuin University), NanoDragon (10x10x34 cm, 4 kg, Meisei), and KOSEN-1 (10x10x23 cm, 3 kg, National Institute of Technology) are the four CubeSats that were launched on this mission.

ASTERISC features a large membrane-like dust sensor, which will be used for the observation of orbital dust particles. ARICA is a test satellite equipped with a gamma-ray detector for observation of celestial bodies. NanoDragon will test a new on-board computer for CubeSats (OBC). Finally, KOSEN-1 will test its OBC and radio wave receiving antenna to study Jupiter.

Mission’s Profile

Shortly after lift off, the rocket rolled to the launch azimuth angle of 121.4° and flew over the Pacific Ocean. Its first, second, and third stages separated at 2 min and 42 s, 6 min and 30 s, and 9 min and 54 s after launch, respectively. After that, the Post Boost Stage (PBS) burned from about 16 min and 13 s to 18 min and 03 s and from about 42 min 17 s to 50 min and 54 s. Then, the three satellites (RAISE-2, TeikyoSat-4, and ASTERISC) were deployed into orbit. This was followed by the third burn of the PBS and deployment of the five other satellites (Z-Sat, DRUMS, HIBARI, KOSEN-1, ARICA, and NanoDragon).

Timeline

Hrs:Min:Sec From Lift-Off	Events	Altitude, km
00:00:00	Lift-Off	0
+ 00:01:50	Stage 1 burn end	73
+ 00:02:33	Fairing separation	121
+ 00:02:42	Stage 1 separation	130
+ 00:02:46	Stage 2 burn start	133
+ 00:04:54	Stage 2 burn end	212
+ 00:06:30	Stage 2 separation	241
+ 00:06:34	Stage 3 burn start	241
+ 00:08:02	Stage 3 burn end	234
+ 00:09:54	Stage 3 separation	239
+ 00:16:13	1st PBS burn start	283
+ 00:18:03	1st PBS burn end	301
+ 00:42:17	2nd PBS burn start	559
+ 00:50:54	2nd PBS burn end	571
+ 00:52:35	RAISE-2 deployed	570
+ 01:06:30	TeikyoSat-4 deployed	570
+ 01:06:53	ASTERISC deployed	570
+ 01:08:34	3rd PBS burn start	572
+ 01:08:47	3rd PBS burn end	572
+ 01:10:06	Z-Sat deployed	574
+ 01:10:29	DRUMS deployed	574
+ 01:10:52	HIBARI deployed	575
+ 01:11:15	KOSEN-1 and ARICA deployed	575
+ 01:11:38	NanoDragon deployed	576

Epsilon

Epsilon (also known as Advanced Solid Rocket) is a three-stage solid-fuel small-lift launch vehicle with an optional fourth stage, a successor to the M-V rocket. Its maiden flight took place on September 14, 2013. Since then, the rocket has launched five times, all five launches were successful.

	First Stage	Second Stage	Third Stage	Fourth Stage
Height, m	11.7	4.0	2.2	2.8
Outer Diameter, m	2.6	2.6	1.4	2.0
Solid Motor	SRB-A	M-35	KM-V2c	PBS
Thrust, kN (lb_f), vacuum	2,350 (528,301)	446 (100,265)	100 (22,481)	0.2 (45)
Specific Impulse (ISP), s, vacuum	284	295	299	231
Burning Time, s	108	129	88	641

The Epsilon rocket is about 26 meters in height and 2.6 meters in diameter. It is capable of placing a 590 kg payload into SSO. Apart from the optional fourth stage (PBS), the rocket is equipped with the Epsilon Satellite Mount Structure and Epsilon Small Satellite Orbital Deployer systems for accurately inserting individual satellites into their respective orbits.

First Stage

All stages of the Epsilon rocket are expendable. As its first stage, Epsilon uses an existing SRB-A solid rocket booster that can be found on the H-IIA launch vehicle. This was done to reduce the cost per launch for this rocket. The first stage is 11.7 m in height and 2.6 m in diameter and is capable of producing 2,350 kN of thrust, with an ISP of 284 s.

A new version of the rocket called Epsilon S will use the first stage based on a strap-on booster for the H3 vehicle. Its maiden flight is planned in 2023.

Second and Third Stages

As its second and third stages, the Epsilon rocket uses existing upper stages of the M-V launch vehicle. The second stage can reach 446 kN of thrust in a vacuum, with an ISP of 295 s. The third stage, in turn, is capable of producing 100 kN of thrust in a vacuum, with an ISP of 299 s.

Optional Fourth Stage

The fourth stage, known as the Post Boost Stage or Compact Liquid Propulsion System, runs on hydrazine and has an ISP of 231 s in a vacuum. It can re-ignite several times to send multiple payloads into different individual orbits.