Visualized: Cubesat micro-orbiters slip into space to flash Earth in Morse code

Visualized Japan's wee Cubesat orbiters dribble out into space

Japan's four-inch FITSAT-1 orbiters were released from Japan's Kibo laboratory on the ISS last week to (literally) start their world tour, and astronauts aboard the station captured the wee satellites being dwarfed by giant solar arrays and our own blue rock on their way to orbit. Soon they'll be writing "Hi this is Niwaka Japan" in Morse code using intense flashes of LED light, first to Japan and then across the globe, starting next month. To catch them floating away from the International Space Station's cozy confines, hit the source.

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Visualized: Cubesat micro-orbiters slip into space to flash Earth in Morse code originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Oct 2012 10:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Japan’s LED-stacked cubesat will burn Morse code into the heavens

Japan's LED-stacked cubesat will burn Morse code into the heavens

If you thought cloud writing was cool, then how about a message from space burnt into the night sky? A group of unassuming cubesats recently left the comfort of the ISS and joined Earth's orbit -- among them was FITSAT-1 (aka Niwaka), a four-inch-cubed Japanese satellite covered in high-powered LEDs. Its mission is to broadcast the message "Hi this is Niwaka Japan" in Morse code, using bursts of intense light to draw dots and dashes across the heavens. FITSAT-1 was originally planned to appear only over Japan, but a flurry of interest means it'll be touring the globe, starting next month. It'll also find time for its studies, beaming VGA images snapped with an onboard camera back to Earth, to test a high-speed data transmitter.

While its creator, Professor Takushi Tanaka, has said the Morse broadcast has "no practical aim," we think it would make a good emergency beacon for natural disasters (or, more worryingly, alien invasions). FITSAT-1 will try and fulfill all requests for appearances, but it can't control the weather, so you'd better hope for a clear night if it visits your part of the world. If you're as excited as we are to see it in action, bookmark the source links below, which should be updated with its orbit schedule in the near future. And, even if you don't speak Japanese, the video after the break will give you an idea of what to expect.

Continue reading Japan's LED-stacked cubesat will burn Morse code into the heavens

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Japan's LED-stacked cubesat will burn Morse code into the heavens originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Oct 2012 12:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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