Deep Space Explorer’s 20-year Journey
CanSat & CubeSat 1st Generation

Yuichi Tsuda

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Yuichi Tsuda
Professor, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
My field: Innovative spacecraft system, Solar system exploration, Astrodynamics
My history•

CanSat (1st generation!)•CubeSat (1st generation!)•IKAROS (World first deep space solar sail) Deputy project manager•Hayabusa2 (Asteroid sample return mission) Project Manager

Student project manager, U of Tokyo “XI-IV”

The beginning （1999~2003）

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Journey begins suddenly...

In 1998 when I was a student in Prof. Nakasuka’s lab,
Professor: There is a workshop in Hawaii.
Do you want to go?
Me: Wow, Hawaii!? I will go.
By the way what will we do there?

The workshop was “University Space Systems Symposium”
where the CanSat was proposed.

Birth of “CanSat” Concept

Initial Concept: launch all the CanSats andoperate them in next USSS (one year later)“Let’s make a satellite out of this Coke-can !!”Prof. Bob Twiggs, Stanford University

First work

ParachuteBatterySensors Board

Main Board

350ml Juice Can
Com encoder (TNC)

TransmitterAntenna

1st Generation “CanSats”

Pre-final model

Flight model of CanSat #003

Three 1st generation CanSats developed by U of Tokyo.
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Launched in Black Rock Desert, 1999

Want to make a Real Satellite！ 〜CanSat to CubeSat

Proposal from Prof. Twiggs again．
Let’s make a 10cm-cubic satellites!
Thin space membrane + CubeSat = ?

Ref. Tsuda, Nakasuka, Aoki, Nagashima,
Space Transportation Symposium, 1999

1998 Pluto explorer concept with 200mdiameter thin flexible solar cells.
How to fold it? “Tsuda-folding”
1999 We proposed “CubeSat + SpaceMembrane” concept, but finallyresulted in...

9Textbook does not teach us.
The unexplored world should be pioneered by ourselves!

World First CubeSat “XI-IV”

112003/06/30 18:15:26 (local time)

XI-IV was Launched!!!

CubeSat XI-IV Photo Gallery July – November 2003, University of Tokyo ISSL

7.30 South Atlantic 9.14 Azores Islands 9.17 East Timor

10.5 Bangladesh

10.5 Tibet

11.03 Egypt

From CubeSats to Deep Space Exploration（2003〜）

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“Continuity” in my first 10 years of carrier
1998
Pluto explorer using space
membrane technology(Concept study)

1999
CanSat membrane deployment experiment(Concept study + Development)→ CanSat w/o membrane

2000
CubeSat membrane deploymene experiment(Concept study + Development)→ CubeSat w/o membrane
2007
IKAROS Solar Power Sail Demonstrator→Real Space mission!
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Tiny (and maybe stupid) Membrane Deployment Experiment

Deployment experiment for CanSat (1999)

Deployment experiment for CubeSat (2000)

..But I didn’t stop sticking to Membrane
2002

Vacuum Chamber Drop Test(D=2m)

2003

Balloon Drop Test (D=4m)

2003-2004

Spin Table Test (D=2.5m)

2010

Deep Space Spacecraft IKAROS(D=20m)

2004

Sounding Rocket Zero-gravity flight(D=10m)2006
2006

Small Sat Demonstration
SSSAT (D=2.7m)

Balloon Test (D=20m)

IKAROS sail was completed!

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1, 2, 3, Fold!

IKAROS is ready to launch!

Mission Sequence of IKAROSExtended
Mission Phase(Jan/2011〜)
Spin Reverse Operation(18/Oct/2011)

Earth(May/2010)

Venus(Dec/2010)

Full Success(in six months)

Minimum Success(in a few weeks)4) Acceleration and navigation
experiment by solar sail(~31/Dec/2010)
1) H-IIA LaunchSun-pointing
Spin separation (5rpm)(21/May/2010)

2) Radio telemetry ON
Tip mass separation (2rpm)
Spinning-up (25rpm)(~02/June/2010)3) Sail deployment (2.5rpm)
Power generation by thin film solar cells
confirmed and evaluated(~10/June/2010)21

Japan’s “Deep Space Month”！
June 13, 2010, JAXA Sagamihara Space Operation Center

Three mission teams at once. (“Hayabusa”, “IKAROS” and Venus Explorer “Akatsuki”)

Succeeded in Solar Sail Deployment!

June 14, 2010, Images taken by DCAM ← Another CanSat!

DCAM

10-year journey was not in vain.

MembraneHarnesses

Satellite Body
Solar Cells

AttitudeControl Device
Solar Cells

Dust Conter

TetherTip Mass

88cm×88cm

14m×14m26

My experience as Mission Designer

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Impact of CubeSat & IKAROSCubeSatImpact：• Started from a small laboratory• “Nano satellite” concept was born through CubeSat.
• Nowadays many colleges, high schools, industries and governments allover the world involved in the CubeSats
IKAROSImpact• Realization of the 100-year dream of mankind: “solar sail technology”.
• Very competitive research area, won by 15 million-dollar tiny mission.
• Solar sail textbooks always refer to IKAROS!

CubeSat has opened up the nano/pico-satellite world.
IKAROS has opened up the new world of space exploration.
CanSat has opened up the new educational world!
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Success tips: Small satellite style•••

Team with good visibility, quick decision• Keep the team compact• Keep the team flat
Use and pull out your ability right• Create the team directly connected to things/products.
• Clearly identify when you should/should not challenge.
Quick & multiple-cycle PDCA with solid engineering management• To fail is the best way to learn. Many PDCA cycles provide you many
“fail” opportunity - for success in the end!
• “Test as you fly, fly as you test” is even critical for smaller, lower-cost,more challenging missions.

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“Guiding Principles for UNISEC-Global”

http://www.unisec-global.org/guidingprinciples.html

My Comrades since CanSat and CubeSat■Hayabusa mission (asteroid sample return tech-demo spacecraft)・Many students/staffs were CanSat/CubeSat-experienced persons.
・Contributed to touchdown operation, and saving the missing spacecraft.
■IKAROS mission (deep space solar sail demonstrator)
・Key development members were all from CanSat/CubeSat.
・Collaborating with many UNISEC-member universities．
・Contributed to perfect success in sail deployment and interplanetary cruise.
■Hayabusa2 Mission (asteroid sample return spacecraft)・Many managers in the development sub-teams were from CanSat/CubeSat,
including project manager (me).
・CanSat/CubeSat members guided the project to the extraordinary success in
unexplored asteroid “Ryugu”.
・Compilation of our “Small satellite style” management.

My comrades, my style as an engineer, my journey as a deep
space explorer were originated from CanSat and CubeSat.
31IKAROS Project Team

Missionstructure

Projectmanager

Thermal, Attitude Control
MissionElectronics

Deputy Manager

Toward Hayabusa2

Hayabusa2 spacecraft
Deployable camera(DCAM3)

X-bandhigh-gain
antenna

Solar array paddle

X-band lowgain antenna
X-band midgain antenna
Ka-band highgain antenna

Optical navigation
Laser altimeter, Near-infrared
camera, ONC-T LIDAR
spectrometer,
NIRS3

Thermalinfrared camera,
TIR

Scientific observation equipment
Star trackers

Ion engine

Near-infrared spectrometer(NIRS3)

RCS thrusters
Optical navigation
cameraONC-T, ONC-W1Re-entry capsule
Sampler horn

Laser altimeter
Optical navigation(LIDAR)
camera ONC-W2

Small lander & rovers
MASCOT

Minerva II

II-1A
Built by DLR andCNES

II1B

MASCOT lander

II-2

II-1: By the JAXA Minerva-II teamII-2: By Tohoku Univ. & the Minerva-II
Consortium

Minerva-II rovers

Thermal infrared
camera(TIR)
Small carry-on impactor (SCI)
Target markers × 5

Size： 1 ×1. 6×1. 25 m (main body)
Solar paddle deployed width 6 m
Mass ： 609 kg (incl. fuel)34

Hayabusa2 Mission History
LaunchDec.3, 2014Earth Gravity Assist
Dec.3, 2015

Ryugu Arrival
Jun.27, 2018

MINERVA-II-1 Deployment
Sep.21, 2018

MASCOT
Deployment
Oct.3, 2018

Only 400 million km to Earth return!

Ryugu Departure
Nov.13.2019

Earth ReturnNov.-Dec. 2020

We arehere!

Kinetic Impact
SecondApr.5, 2019
Target Markers Orbiting Touchdown
First Touchdown
Sep.16, 2019
Jul,11, 2019Feb.22, 2019
MINERVA-II-2 Orbiting-$ ; $ 6 \P SRVLXP Oct.2, 201935

C‐type Asteroid “Ryugu”• Top shape with a very circularequatorial bulge• Spectrum type: Cb• Radius: 〜450 m• Mass: 〜450 million ton• Obliquity: 〜8°• Rotation period：P = 7.63 hours• Reflectance factor （v-band）：0.02• Terrain: Very bumpy36

Surface Exploration with 4 Robots
MASCOT
by DLR/CNESMINERVA-II-1-A & B
by JAXA（Nickname：Hibou, Owl)
（Image credit：JAXA）（Image credit：MASCOT/DLR/JAXA）

Sep, 21, 2018

Oct. 5, 2018

MINERVA-II-2
by U of Tohoku andUniversity consortium（nickname: Ulula）（Image credit：東北大，JAXA）

Oct. 2, 2019

Touchdown #1 Result(C) JAXA• All sequences went normally.
• 1m accuracy landing achieved.
• Many fragments observed!

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Kinetic Impact Result

April, 5, 2019

(C) JAXA(C) JAXA

14．5m

Arakawa et al., 2020

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Touchdown #2 (PPTD) Operation Result• All the sequence wentnormally.
• Landing accuracy was60cm!
• Many fragments
observed again.

SCI Crater

2nd touchdown
accuracy

Sampler horn ground point

Touchdown accuracy：60 cm

TMTD pointTM

C01‐Cb(radius 3.5 m)

TM
Sampler horn ground point(radius 20 cm)

43◆Seven engineering “World’s Firsts”
1. Mobile activity of rovers on small body
2. Multiple rovers deployment on small body
3. 60cm-accuracy landing and sampling
4. Artificial crater forming and observation of impact process
5. Multiple landing on extraterrestrial planet
6. Subsurface material sampling
7. Smallest-object constellation around extraterrestrial planet

May CanSat/CubeSat push the boundary of the space
exploration further!

Thank you for your attention.

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