2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Study on a capturing and tracking system of a cube satellite

Research Project

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Project/Area Number	26420216
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Section	一般
Research Field	Intelligent mechanics/Mechanical systems
Research Institution	Fukuoka Institute of Technology
Principal Investigator	Kawamura Yoshiyuki 福岡工業大学, 工学部, 教授 (90167362)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	木野仁福岡工業大学, 工学部, 教授 (50293816)
Research Collaborator	Tanaka Takushi
Project Period (FY)	2014-04-01 – 2019-03-31
Keywords	LED / 小型衛星 / 追尾
Outline of Final Research Achievements	We have developed a system to efficiently capture and track small luminous satellites. First, a large scale platform for astronomical observation was introduced, and a 250 mm aperture reflective astronomical telescope was attached to it, and a weak light detection scanning detection system using a photomultiplier was built. By changing the drive motor from a pulse motor to an AC motor with a large torque, optimizing the reduction gear ratio, and optimizing the tracking program, etc., the tracking performance is improved. It has become possible to track satellites in low orbiting, such as the ISS. Further improvements have been made, and eventually it has become possible to track light-emitting vehicles with irregular movements like drones.
Free Research Field	レーザー工学
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	近年、宇宙への関心が高まり、その科学的な利用の研究の裾野が大学生まで広がりつつある。米国においては、高校生も超小型LED発光衛星の打ち上げを企画し、申請者に技術的な質問を寄せていている。衛星の制作・打ち上げとともにその観測は車の両輪の関係にあり、相異なる技術ながら重要・必須の技術である。しかしながら、宇宙からの光は弱く、またその補足は艱難を極める。世界的にもいくつかのLED発光小型衛星が軌道上に放出されたが、その信号を確実に捉えた例は数少ない。（申請者の知る限り我々の例のみではないかと考える）このような現状の中で、発光衛星の補足・追尾方向にしっかりとした指針を示せたことは有意義なことと考える。