ARTSAT1: Invader, 2014
dataLAB
Photo: AsMedia
On February 28, 2014, the world’s first art satellite, ARTSAT1:Invader was launched as a piggyback payload on the H-IIA F23 launch vehicle, and inserted into a non-sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 378 km and inclination of 65 degrees. Invader, a 10 cm cube 1U-CubeSat with a mass of 1.85 kg continued its steady operation on orbit, successfully performing an array of artistic missions by commands from the main ground station at Tama Art University. These missions included algorithmic generation and transmission of synthesized voice, music and poems, capturing and transmitting of image data and communicating with the ground through a chatbot program. Invader was also equipped with Morikawa, an on-board mission computer compatible with the Arduino open-source hardware platform, programmed with various functions reflecting today’s maker/hacker culture such as in-orbit satellite operation and reprogramming via web browser. Invader extended its orbit for an additional two months and deorbited and re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere for disintegration on September 2, 2014, 09:47 (JST).
