ARTSAT

The “ARTSAT: Art and Satellite Project” utilizes a satellite orbiting the earth as a “medium that connects everyday life to the universe”. In the course of the project, a variety of interactive works of media art and other artworks will be created.

The project is carried out in a collaborative effort around a core team of over 70 members from Tama Art University and The University of Tokyo. The latter’s team developed a specialized “art satellite” for artistic purposes, while the team from Tama Art University is in charge of producing works based on data from the satellite, operating a ground station, and distributing data.

“ARTSAT1: INVADER(*)”, the world’s first art satellite, has been selected for a piggyback payload on the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) H-IIA rocket. The ultrasmall 1U CubeSat, measuring only 10 x 10cm and weighing 1.5kg, is scheduled to be launched in February 2014, after which it will be traveling on a circular, polar sun-asynchronous orbit at an altitude of 407km, and with an inclination of 65 degrees.
Read more at artsat.jp