The Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) on Wednesday announced that the Taiwan-Japan codeveloped small satellite Onglaisat had hit a key milestone by completing 50 imaging operations and successfully testing three key technologies.
After nearly three months of in-orbit operation, Onglaisat achieved its objectives after downloading and processing 50 images of the Earth, TASA said.
Onglaisat had also successfully tested the Korsch off-axis optical system, the complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) time delay and integration (TDI) image sensor, and the JPEG 2000 onboard compression capability, TASA added.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Space Agency
Onglaisat project leader Chan Chen-yu (詹鎮宇) said that small satellites, or cubesats, are a quicker and more affordable “pathfinder” to test emerging space technologies.
The project was launched to test the feasibility of systems for use in future ultra-high-resolution optical remote sensing satellites, he added.
Regarding the off-axis optical system aboard Onglaisat, Chan said that while it presents greater design, manufacturing and assembly challenges, it has a more compact structure and improved optical performance.
With successful testing, the technology could be used on larger satellites, which would help improve image resolution, he added
The CMOS TDI image sensor, which enhances sensitivity and image quality, is the first TDI image sensor developed in Taiwan to be successfully tested in a space mission, potentially helping the country develop its own satellites, Chang said.
As for the JPEG 2000 onboard compression capability, it enables more efficient use of satellite data storage and downlink bandwidth, preventing bottlenecks in data transmission, he added.
The Onglaisat project is a collaboration project between TASA and the Intelligent Space Systems Laboratory at the University of Tokyo’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, along with several Japan-based start-up companies.
Launched into space from the US on Nov. 5 last year, Onglaisat was deployed into a 410km low Earth orbit from the International Space Station on Dec. 9 last year, TASA said.
Its mission is expected to last until early March, TASA added.
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