Re-Entry: S-CUBE

Japan’s Shootingstar Sensing Satellite re-entered the atmosphere on November 23, 2016 after 14 months in orbit tasked with collecting data on meteors entering Earth’s atmosphere.

NORAD ID: 40898
Type: 3U CubeSat
Object: S-CUBE or S³
Mass: 3.99kg
Origin: Japan
Inclination: 51.3°

Launch: August 18, 2015
Launch Vehicle: H-IIB
Launch Site: Tanegashima Space Center, Japan

Launched aboard HTV-5 Cargo Spacecraft
Released from ISS: September 17, 2015

Re-Entry Prediction: November 23, 2016 – 01:21 UTC +/- 10 Minutes
Re-Entry Zone: Indian/Pacific Ocean

The Shootingstar Sensing Satellite also called S-CUBE or S³ is a 3-Unit CubeSat, measuring 30 by 10 by 10 centimeters in size with a total mass of 3.99 Kilograms. Its primary objective is the detection of shooting stars from Low Earth Orbit to demonstrate the use of a CubeSat in the field of planetary science. Outfitted with different detection systems, S³ aims to measure the ultraviolet signature of meteors, collect visible imagery of meteors from orbit and obtain information on the size distribution and composition of meteors. S³ is a project of the Planetary Exploration Research Center (PERC) of the Chiba Institute of Technology and Tohoku University.

>>Detailed Satellite Description

Re-Entry Zone