January 14, 2021 (JST)

National Research & Development Agency
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) cooperate under the KiboCUBE program launched in 2015 to provide developing countries with opportunities to deploy CubeSats from the Japanese Experiment Module “Kibo” of the International Space Station (ISS).
JAXA and OOSA have selected a team from the Central American Integration System (SICA), for the fifth round of KiboCUBE program, which called for applications from March 26, 2019 to September 30, 2019 (Reference 1). It is the first time to select international organization in this program.

Member states of SICA: Belize, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama.

Also, JAXA and UNOOSA have agreed to extend the KiboCUBE program until the end of December 2024 and opened the sixth round of KiboCUBE (Reference2, 3, 4). Through KiboCUBE cooperation program, JAXA and UNOOSA aim to contribute to the capacity building of space related technology in the developing countries.
JAXA contributes to the Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality education, Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth, Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure through this program, along with the promotion of Kibo utilization.

(Reference 1) Selection of fifth round

Name of Satellite：MORÁZAN-SAT
Selected Organization/Country：Central American Integration System (SICA)
Mission Overview: capacity building and technology demonstration
(weather data acquisition, emergency alert demo for the natural disaster)
Size: 1U (10cmx10cmx11.35cm, 1.3kg at a maximum mass)

(Reference 2) Extension of KiboCUBE cooperation program

Period: Extended to the end of December 2024
Scope: Sixth and seventh round of KiboCUBE / deployment of CubeSat (1U) from Kibo (number of selections depend on the number and content of applications)
Roles and Responsibilities: See the table below

(Reference 3) Announcement of Opportunity for Sixth Round of KiboCUBE
See the below website.
https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/psa/hsti/kibocube/2020.html External Link

(Reference 4) World Space Forum 2020
The announcement of the extension of the KiboCUBE cooperation program, and announcement of opportunity for the sixth round was presented in the virtual conference “World Space Forum 2020” organized by UNOOSA and the United Arab Emirate Space Agency, on December 10.
For detail, please see the below website.
https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/world-space-forum/2020/world-space-forum-2020.html External Link

JAXA
Shiho Ogawa, Director of JEM Utilization Center, Human Spaceflight Technology Directorate:

I am very pleased to be able to contribute to the development of the Central American countries through MORÁZAN-SAT project by SICA. This cooperation will further enhance the value of the KiboCUBE program and make a way to space for developing countries.
JAXA has contributed to the capacity building of countries in South East Asia, Central America, and Africa through the past five rounds in this program. We continue the support to non-space faring countries or regions for the betterment of their space technology, through the broad network of UNOOSA and technology of JAXA including “Kibo”.

UNOOSA
Simonetta Di Pippo, Director of UNOOSA:

The KiboCUBE programme is an essential component of our Access to Space 4 All Initiative, that offers a range of opportunities to make space exploration truly inclusive. We are excited to see KiboCUBE continuing to break glass ceilings in the space sector. The selection of this team, which brings together several Central American countries, shows how important international collaboration is to advance space capabilities. We are confident this satellite will make a difference for the future of space exploration in the region.

SICA
Carlos Enrique Alvarado, Morazan Project Coordinator:

We are honored and excited to receive the support from JAXA and UNOOSA in this historic endeavor. The Central American region will face important challenges during the upcoming decades under the effects of climate change that will require the development of space capacities. Morazan Project will contribute to this goal and will demonstrate the value of international cooperation.

Vinicio Cerezo, Secretary General of SICA and former President of Guatemala:

We are pleased to have been selected by JAXA and UNOOSA to participate in the fifth round of the KiboCUBE program, this is the result of the progress that we are making in the Central American region for further development in science, technology and innovation. The sky is no longer the limit for Central America, with the use of geospatial tools we have a great potential to transform the living conditions of our population and strengthen the national governance by making political decisions based on science.