Overview and operations of CubeSat FITSAT-1 (NIWAKA)

FITSAT-1 (NIWAKA) is a 10 cm 1U CubeSat which was deployed from ISS/JEM on October 4, 2012. The main mission of NIWAKA is to demonstrate a high speed transmitter module developed by our group (115.2 kbps, 5.8 GHz, FSK, 2 W RF output). It can transmit VGA resolution jpeg images (640×480 pixels) in 2 to 6 seconds. The secondary mission is to make the satellite twinkle as an “artificial star” using high-output LEDs. This light was observed by binoculars, imaged by cameras, and detected by a photo-multiplier mounted on a telescope. We also discovered a phenomenon of increasing rotation of NIWAKA.