HiakaSat

HiakaSat is a 55-kilogram micro-satellite developed by the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Hawaii Space Flight Laboratory (HSFL) for remote sensing technology demonstration. Its name derives from the Hawaiian goddess associated with storytelling and doubles as an acronym for Hyperspectral Imaging, Aeronautical Kinematic Analysis. HiakaSat carried the DARPA-funded Space Ultra-Compact Hyperspectral Imager (SUCHI), a long-wave infrared hyperspectral imaging payload developed at UH, alongside two color Earth-observation cameras and an additional community-college-built sensor payload. More than 130 students took part in the satellite’s design, fabrication, and testing. HiakaSat flew as the primary payload on the Operationally Responsive Space-4 (ORS-4) mission, launched 3 November 2015 on a Super Strypi (SPARK) rocket from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai — the first orbital launch attempt from Hawaii. The launch vehicle failed to reach orbit, but the mission met HSFL’s core goals of building Hawaii’s satellite design, launch, and operations workforce.