“IST”: COLLABORATIVE FLIGHT EXPERIMENTAL MISSION BETWEEN CNES AND JAXA ON JAXA SATELLITE SDS-4 FOR THE EVALUATION OF THERMAL CONTROL MATERIALS IN LEO

摘要

JAXA has developed a Small Demonstration Satellite (SDS) series to verify new technologies for components and devices in space prior to providing highly established technology to practical satellites and scientific probes. The SDS-4 was launched on May 18, 2012, on which an in-flight experiment of space materials using THERME (IST) was performed as a collaborative mission between CNES and JAXA. CNES has developed very simple and inexpensive experimental equipment (known as “THERME”). The IST on the SDS-4 involves two THERME units, each provided with two kinds of samples: CNES and JAXA samples respectively. As a preliminary result, it initially emerged that the observed αs value of JAXA samples exceeded that measured on the ground prior to flight. During 3.5 months in orbit, an increase in αs was observed. The change of αs in orbit was comparable to the result obtained in ground tests.