The Mission Demonstration Test Satellite-1 (TSUBASA) was launched by the H-IIA F2 from Tanegashima Space Center (TNSC) on February 4th, 2002. It completed its actual operational period on February 26th, 2003, and later entered the utilization period.
Mission demonstration test satellites obtain basic data and allow scientists to test the functioning of various devices on actual satellites before those devices are deployed in higher-risk and more challenging missions.
To shorten the development period and lower costs, these test satellites carry both newly developed equipment and devices with a known track record. These satellites also allow the use of increasingly complex commercially manufactured parts for space development, helping develop an industry that will lead to spacecraft with higher performance, lower costs, and smaller and lighter components.
Furthermore, the use of commercial components means a shorter development period. The satellite bus system, the mission equipment, the tracking and control system, and the experiment-evaluation system have been integrated into one system in the development of TSUBASA.