This press release is issued by NASDA.
Operations of Spin-up and Initial Sun Acquisition for "Tsubasa" ( MDS-1 )
February 5, 2002 (JST)
National Space Development Agency of Japan
The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) started the spin-up operation of "Tsubasa", the Mission Demonstration Test Satellite-1 (MDS-1) from 00:25 a.m. February 5, 2002 (Japan Standard Time) and Tsubasa successfully reached its spin rate.
After spin-up, NASDA conducted the initial sun acquisition from 2:04 a.m. on the same day and confirmed that its attitude was directed to the desirable angle from the sun.
The satellite condition is normal at present.
NASDA will conduct the mast extension around 2:30 a.m. February 6, 2002.
Additional Information :
| Spin-up Operation : | This is an operation to gain the spin rate of the satellite to keep its attitude stable. |
| Initial Sun Acquisition : | This is an operation to point the solar paddle aboard to the desirable direction against the sun for the first time by controlling attitude of the satellite. |
| Mast Operation : | This is an operation to extend a magnetometer mast, which was retracted in the satellite at the launch time. |
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