OPUSAT 2 (Hirogari)

OPUSAT 2 [OPU]

OPUSAT 2 (Osaka Prefecture University Satellite) or Hirogari is a nanosatellite that was developed by Osaka Prefecture University. It follows the 2U CubeSat form factor.

OPUSAT 2 was developed based on the earlier OPUSAT. It has two main missions:

• The first mission is to demonstrate high-speed data transmission in amateur radio band. The satellite communication system's design and the results of the experiment will be made public.
• The second mission is a deployment of a large folded structure. A deployable plastic plate is stored inside the satellite, based on Miura fold. The folding method that will be tested in this mission takes into account the thickness of the plate, unlike the traditional Miura fold. The satellite will optically measure the deployment using a pair of cameras. The team proposes applying this folding method on space-based solar power in the future.

The satellite was launched on board of Cygnus CRS-15 on an Antares-230+ rocket to be delivered to the ISS, from where it was deployed via the JEM airlock.