Experiment

Costa Rica hands over to JAXA its first CubeSat "Irazu", the first artificial satellite from Central America. Launch preparation starts. Scheduled to be deployment during Astronaut Kanai's stay onboard!

On February 21, 2018, a CubeSat developed by the Republic of Costa Rica in Central America was handed over to JAXA officials at JAXA's Tsukuba Space Center in Ibaraki Pref., Japan, attended by people involved in the project. The Cubesat will undergo preparations to be launched to the International Space Station (ISS) where Astronaut Kanai is working onboard.

The CubeSat (named Irazu) was developed by the Costa Rica Institute of Technology (TEC) and the Central American Association of Aeronautics and Space (ACAE) with the technical cooperation of the Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech). Sized 1 U (approx.10 cm×10 cm×10 cm), Costa Rica's first satellite is intended to demonstrate the communication satellite technology for collecting observation data on Costa Rica's tropical forests and data on its climate, soils, and tree growth.

On February 21st, Ambassador Laura María Esquivel-Mora from the Embassy of Costa Rica, the representatives of Kyutech, and other Costa Rican officials participated in the handover, with Ambassador Esquivel-Mora expressing great interest in seeing the Cubesat for the first time.

The CubeSat handover was successfully completed and will be delivered to the ISS onboard the SpaceX CRS-14 scheduled to be launched in April.

Irazu (1U)
(Credit: JAXA)

Costa Rican officials surrounding Irazu (Ambassador of Costa Rica, second right)
(Credit: JAXA)

Ms. Laura María Esquivel-Mora, Ambassador, the Embassy of Costa Rica (Left side)(Credit: JAXA)

*All times are Japan Standard Time (JST)