Japanese Satellite Startup Releases First Images From Polar Satellite
Satellite image of the Hudson Bay coastline taken on Dec. 20, 2013. (Credit: Axelspace)
A Japanese start-up company named Axelspace Corporation has released the first images from a commercial micro-satellite launched aboard a Dnepr rocket in November.
The WNISAT-1 weather satellite — built in partnership with Weathernews, Inc. — produces images of Arctic ice for the shipping industry. Warming temperatures in the area have opened up a northern sea routes during the summer months that cut significant time off of voyages.
Axelspace is a rare start-up entry in the Japanese aerospace market, which is dominated by large corporation. The five-year old company lists 13 employees on its website.
Later this year, the company plans to launch its Hodoyoshi-1 Earth observation satellite, which will produce multi-spectral images with the ground resolution of 6.7m (22ft). The 60 kg (132 lb) micro-satellite measures 60 cm (23.6 in).
The press release announcing the release of the first images from WNISAT-1 is below.
First Images Received Private Weather Satellite, WNSAT-1
Steady Progress Toward Polar Routeing Service This Summer
Overview
Weathernews Inc. (Chiba, Japan; RMD: Chihito Kusabiraki) and Axelspace Corporation (Tokyo, Japan; CEO: Yuya Nakamura) together have announced that the first images have been received from the jointly developed compact weather satellite, WNISAT-1, since its launch last November. The images published here are test shots taken during the satellite’s initial operations. Both companies are continuing to proceed with preparations for the start of full-fledged Arctic ice observation in time for this summer’s Arctic passage openings.
Shipping distances using polar routes (Credit: Axelspace)
First Images and Data from the World’s First Private Weather Satellite Successfully Received
To support safe shipping operations based on more accurate sea ice prediction for vessels sailing via the Northern Sea Route, Weathernews and Axelspace began developing WNISAT-1 in 2008 in order to establish proprietary sensory infrastructure independent of the established space industries in Japan. After several delays at the launch facilities in Russia, WNISAT-1 was finally launched successfully on November 21st, 2013. Initial operations started up the following month with test shots of Arctic ice to confirm the onboard camera’s normal operation. Now, the first image data has finally been fully received by Axelspace and the SVOC (Space Vehicle Operations Center).
Technicians at the SVOC at Weathernews Global Center in Japan will continue to make preparations like adjusting parameters for image collection for the start of Arctic ice observation this summer.
About Efforts for the Northern Sea Route
In recent years, there has been a trend of sea ice in the Arctic melting faster, and in 2005, the Northern Sea Route opened for the first time in history. In 2009, the world’s first commercial shipping voyage sailed through the seasonal opening. The global shipping industry has been eager to capitalize more on the Northern Sea Route as a shorter and therefore more fuel-efficient alternative to sailing around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, or through expensive and busy canals like the Suez. A voyage via the Arctic is half the distance of a typical route via the Cape of Good Hope, thus reducing vessel bunker consumption and in turn CO2 emissions released by their engines.
In order to realize polar voyage operations safely, Weathernews established the Global Ice Center and a team of specialists in 2008 understanding the need for detailed observation data of ice in the Arctic. In 2011, Weathernews began providing Polar Routeing Service to support shipping companies choosing the Northern Sea Route.
To make even more accurate predictions of sea ice, Weathernews entered into a partnership with startup Axelspace to develop the first private weather satellite dedicated to ice monitoring. The result was the ultra-compact, WNISAT-1 which achieved orbit on November 21st, 2013. Starting in March of 2014, Weathernews will begin to use data from the satellite in Ice Route Service for areas other than the Arctic, and then to enhance the effectiveness Polar Routeing Service to this summer.
3 responses to “Japanese Satellite Startup Releases First Images From Polar Satellite”
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competitition is showing up all over the place.
Sats getting smaller, combined with new cheap access to space, sounds like we are about to see a MAJOR boom in space technology. Hopefully, a bit of a race so that politicians everywhere will pay attention. Hopefully, here in America, the group that gave us the SLS and is working at killing off private space, will be nixed for their disregard of America and only of their pocketbook.
Y.
oh, small sats can be launched from the ISS. The issue is how expensive is it to get cargo to the ISS. In the next year or so, we will see grasshopper become useful. Just down the road (1-3 years), FH will be able to use it and drop the price of cargo launches. At that point, nano-sats will be dirt cheap to launch.
More importantly, where these might really be useful would be around the moon and mars. A small network of sats that can serve as comm links, single instrument such as a camera in various ranges and perhaps GPS (with the new single chip atomic clock). With the ability to launch these around these bodies, it makes it possible for multiple missions to share resources.