WASHINGTON – The Japanese space agency has terminated a communications research satellite after its extended mission in space ended. The Communications and Broadcasting Engineering Test Satellite (COMET) operations were ended August 6, following depletion of the satellite’s thruster fuel supply.
The satellite was launched on Feb. 21, 1998 and had been used to conduct research into advanced satellite broadcasting technology and the capability of satellites to relay data between themselves and possible orbiting space stations.
The satellite also tested compatibility of the Japanese space communications infrastructure with that of NASA and the European Space Agency. Both Ka-band and S-band systems were installed for the tests.
Japan’s National Space Development Agency said that future communications satellites might also have commercial uses, such as providing wideband broadcasting of High Definition Television.
The H-II rocket booster that launched the COMETS suffered a malfunction of the launcher’s upper stage, which resulted in injecting the satellite into a lower orbit than planned. Ground controllers used the spacecraft’s own onboard thrusters to achieve the correct orbit.
The satellite’s primary mission ended last January and its secondary, extended mission has been underway since then. The craft, which weighed 3.9 tons at liftoff, was built to last in space up to three years.
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