MicroOrbiter-1

MicroOrbiter-1 is an experimental IoT nanosatellite developed through joint research between Micro Orbiter Inc. and the Kyushu Institute of Technology. It is a CubeSat-class spacecraft designed to collect low-power IoT sensor data from distributed ground terminals in remote and maritime locations and relay it to ground stations using a Store & Forward method. The satellite communicates over the 920MHz unlicensed low-power radio band using LoRa modulation, with a secondary 400MHz link, and carries a flat patch antenna mounted on its +Z surface. Attitude is maintained passively via a Passive Magnetic Attitude Control System that uses Earth’s geomagnetic field, eliminating the need for active attitude control hardware.

MicroOrbiter-1 was launched to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 cargo resupply mission on March 22, 2024, and was subsequently deployed into low Earth orbit in April 2024, becoming Micro Orbiter’s flagship demonstration of its mission-customized CubeSat platform for IoT communication applications.