WARP 01 (Nichirin)

WARP 01 [WARPSpace]

WARP 01 or Nichirin is a technology demostration 1U CubeSat developed by a Japanese space startup, Warpspace Inc., and University of Tsukuba.

WARP-01 has a mass of less than 1.33kg.

WARP-01’s mission objective is:

• To demonstrate new satellite bus components: the University of Tsukuba and Warpspace Inc. developed new and cost-effective satellite bus components, a UHF communications module, electric power supply module, on board computer module with GPS receiver IC, and an aluminum chassis. The WARP-01 CubeSat demonstrates the performance of these new components in space.
• To carry wedding memorial plates into space: as part of a commercial mission, WARP-01 carries wedding memorial plates made of titanium into space.
• To gather images of the Earth and space: after deployment from the International Space Station (ISS), WARP-01 deploys a panel that has an attached camera and sensors to gather images of the Earth and space.
• To survey the radiation environment in space: WARP-01 demonstrates the performance of a radiation sensor to survey the radiation environment in low-Earth orbit. Specifically, the sensor contains a micro SD card to observe single event upsets (SEUs) caused by beta radiation.
• To survey the radio environment in space: WARP-01 demonstrates software defined radio (SDR), and surveys the radio environment in space. Specifically, the SDR receives signals in the 430 MHz amateur radio band and analyzes the radio field intensity.

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.