Launch vehicles, once launched, must travel along the correct trajectory at the correct speed to reach their destination. However, factors like wind resistance or deviations from the planned speed can affect their flight. In such cases, the launch vehicle makes self-adjustments to stay on its planned course. NEC Space Technologies, an NEC group company, develops and manufactures the onboard equipment responsible for this critical launch vehicle control.

Automatic Trajectory Correction to Ensure Accurate Flight Paths

Without relying on guidance or control commands from the ground, launch vehicles autonomously detect their position, acceleration, and attitude using onboard electronic devices and software. This allows them to automatically correct their trajectory, ensuring they follow the pre-planned flight path through inertial guidance. To achieve this, the guidance and control computer processes navigation, guidance, and control calculations based on data from sensors like gyroscopes and accelerometers. Additionally, various types of data from within the launch vehicle are collected and transmitted as telemetry data to ground control stations. Ground control monitors this telemetry data in real-time to ensure the launch vehicle is functioning correctly.

The data acquisition unit collects information about the launch vehicle’s condition during flight—such as temperature, pressure, and data from onboard equipment. This data is essential for determining whether the launch vehicle is functioning properly.

The telemetry transmitter is an equipment that transmits various data collected by the data collection unit to the ground. The data transmitted by the telemetry transmitter is received by the ground control station and delivered in real time to the control room. There, the telemetry data is continuously monitored to confirm the launch vehicle's operational status.

Installed on All Major Japanese Launch Vehicles

With a proven track record of high reliability, NEC Space Technologies' onboard equipment is used in all of Japan's core launch vehicles, including H-IIA/B, H3, Epsilon, and Epsilon S.

Ensuring Accurate Launch Vehicle and Satellite Deployment

As the utilization of space for societal needs grows and the application of space-collected data continues to expand, the importance of launch vehicles in safely and accurately delivering satellites to their designated orbits is increasing. NEC Space Technologies' onboard electronic systems contribute to ensuring that launch vehicles can fly safely and dependably, enabling the continued advancement of space exploration and utilization.

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