USERS Credit: Manufacturer Image |
Status: Operational 2002. First Launch: 2002-09-10. Last Launch: 2002-09-10. Number: 1 . Gross mass: 1,500 kg (3,300 lb).
The 1.7-ton (with fuel), 700-W satellite consisted of a ReEntry Module (REM) and a Service Module (SEM) that was to provide power and a communications link to the REM. In turn, REM consisted of a ReEntry Vehicle (REV) and a Propulsion Module (PM). After 8.5 months in orbit, REM was to be separated to deorbit and the REV was to soft-land with its contents at 151E 22N in the Pacific near Japan's Ogasawara Islands. The SEM was to be elevated to a higher orbit.
The SEM had a mass of 800 kg; the REV/PM had a total mass of 926 kg
Launch delayed from August 2002. First operational flight of H-2A booster. USERS (Unmanned Space Experiment Recovery System) was a Japanese microgravity experimental satellite. After 8.5 months in orbit, a reentry vehicle was to be returned to earth with the materials manufacturered in space.