The design and orbital operation of Space Flyer Unit

Abstract The Space Flyer Unit is a retrievable and re-usable multipurpose platform. The first SFU mission (SFU-1) will be launched by Japanese H-II rocket and retrieved by the United States Space Shuttle. SFU system consists of the core system and payloads. The core system provides standardized interfaces and services for payload integration and operation. The core system is reusable with proper post mission maintenances. Electrical furnaces for material processing, technology development experiments such as two-dimensionally deployable mechanism, electric propulsion experiment, a partial model of Japanese Experiment Module of the Space Station and a space infrared telescope are among the payloads of SFU-1. In addition to ground based system, SFU will be equipped with an onboard navigation and guidance system which will be used for the rendezvous with Space Shuttle. The SFU-1 launch date is targeted for the first quarter of 1994 and retrieved after several months of operation in orbit. The brief description of the core system and the in-orbit operation, emphasized on retrieval phase, will be presented in this paper.