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Osumi (satellite)
Encyclopedia
Ōsumi is the name of the first Japan
ese artificial satellite
put into orbit
, named after the Ōsumi Province
in the southern islands of Japan
. It was launched on February 11, 1970 at 04:25 UTC with a Lambda 4S-5 rocket
from Uchinoura Space Center
by Institute of Space and Aeronautical Science, University of Tokyo
, now part of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
(JAXA). Japan became the fourth nation after the USSR, USA and France
to release an artificial satellite into successful orbit.
with a perigee
of 323 km and an apogee
of 2,440 km, and with an inclination
of 31.0°.
Ōsumi decayed
from orbit and burned up in the atmosphere on August 2, 2003.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese artificial satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
put into orbit
Orbit
In physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of an object around a point in space, for example the orbit of a planet around the center of a star system, such as the Solar System...
, named after the Ōsumi Province
Osumi Province
was an old province of Japan in the area that is today the eastern part of Kagoshima Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Ōsumi bordered on Hyūga and Satsuma Provinces.Osumi's ancient capital was near modern Kokubu...
in the southern islands of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. It was launched on February 11, 1970 at 04:25 UTC with a Lambda 4S-5 rocket
Lambda (rocket)
Lambda is the name of a series of Japanese rockets. It consisted of the types Lambda 2, LS-A, LSC-3, Lambda 3, Lambda 4 and LS-C.On February 11, 1970 the first Japanese satellite Ōsumi was launched using a Lambda 4 rocket....
from Uchinoura Space Center
Uchinoura Space Center
The is a space launch facility close to the Japanese town of Kimotsuki, in Kagoshima Prefecture. Before the establishment of the JAXA space agency in 2003, it was simply called the . All Japan's scientific satellites were launched from Uchinoura prior to the M-V launch vehicles being decommissioned...
by Institute of Space and Aeronautical Science, University of Tokyo
University of Tokyo
, abbreviated as , is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be the most prestigious university...
, now part of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
The , or JAXA, is Japan's national aerospace agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on October 1, 2003, as an Independent Administrative Institution administered by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and the...
(JAXA). Japan became the fourth nation after the USSR, USA and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
to release an artificial satellite into successful orbit.
Parameters
The Ōsumi satellite weighed 24.0 kilograms. It orbited the EarthEarth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
with a perigee
Perigee
Perigee is the point at which an object makes its closest approach to the Earth.. Often the term is used in a broader sense to define the point in an orbit where the orbiting body is closest to the body it orbits. The opposite is the apogee, the farthest or highest point.The Greek prefix "peri"...
of 323 km and an apogee
Apsis
An apsis , plural apsides , is the point of greatest or least distance of a body from one of the foci of its elliptical orbit. In modern celestial mechanics this focus is also the center of attraction, which is usually the center of mass of the system...
of 2,440 km, and with an inclination
Inclination
Inclination in general is the angle between a reference plane and another plane or axis of direction.-Orbits:The inclination is one of the six orbital parameters describing the shape and orientation of a celestial orbit...
of 31.0°.
Ōsumi decayed
Orbital decay
Orbital decay is the process of prolonged reduction in the altitude of a satellite's orbit.This can be due to drag produced by an atmosphere due to frequent collisions between the satellite and surrounding air molecules. The drag experienced by the object is larger in the case of increased solar...
from orbit and burned up in the atmosphere on August 2, 2003.
External links
- Official Osumi webpage
- Image of Osumi: Kiwi-Osumi-image