Japan's lowest flying satellite hit a Guinness record

Flying in orbit just 167.4km above the ground, Japan's Tsubame satellite has just been recognized by the world record book as the lowest orbiting satellite.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) confirmed the Tsubame satellite was only orbiting 167.4 km above the ground between December 2017 and October 2019.

Notably, the trajectory of the Tsubame satellite is considered super low while the average orbit of the satellite is from 600km to 800km.

The Tsubame satellite only flies in orbit 167,4km above the ground.

Using a combination of gas propulsion and a special ion engine system designed by JAXA, Tsubame satellites can fly in extremely low orbit for 7 days to capture high resolution images and collect data. climate-related data.

The satellite's ultra-low orbits allow it to gather a lot of details about the Earth's surface. However, to fly in this orbit, satellites need to be equipped with technology to combat the effects of the atmosphere.

Flying in low orbit makes the satellite 1,000 times more likely to fail than the satellite , JAXA said.

According to JAXA, the agency has developed materials that allow Tsubame to fly at low orbit without affecting the satellite's life span too much. This material will be used for future satellite technology.