Super Low Altitude Test Satellite


Super Low Altitude Test Satellite or Tsubame is a JAXA satellite intended to demonstrate operations in very low Earth orbit, using ion engines to counteract aerodynamic drag from the Earth's atmosphere which is substantial at such lower orbital altitudes. It was launched on 23 December 2017, and decommissioned on 1 October 2019.
The spacecraft is equipped with sensors to determine atomic oxygen density, an exposure facility to measure material degradation in the 200 km orbit, and a small camera. Initial designs had conventional, though slightly canted, solar panels. SLATS received the nickname Tsubame on 14 July 2017. According to JAXA, this name was chosen as the thin, elongated satellite in super low orbit with a set of solar array wings is reminiscent of a small swallow flying low.
SLATS was launched 23 December 2017 on a H-IIA rocket alongside the GCOM-C satellite to a 630 km orbit, followed by orbit-lowering manoeuvres by a combination of chemical propulsion and aerobraking, with final operation at an altitude below 180 km.
The operation of the satellite was finished on 30 September 2019, and it was decommissioned in orbit on 1 October 2019 by terminating the communication radio and power.
On 30 December 2019, Guinness World Records recognized Tsubame's achievement, which reached the lowest altitude ever among Earth observation satellites.