Late 2025 Launch Window Set for D-Sail Equipped Satellite
Demonstration Mission will Validate Membrane Deployment and Deorbiting Performance
The launch target period has been set for the RApid Innovative payload demonstration SatellitE-4 (RAISE-4), carrying the Axelspace deployable deorbit mechanism “D-SAIL,” as part of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)’s program named “The Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-4.”
RAISE-4 is scheduled to be launched by Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from launch complex 1 on the Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand, during the period from November 25 to December 24, 2025.
D-SAIL is a deorbiting device designed to shorten the time a satellite remains in orbit after the termination of its operation. Axelspace and SAKASE•ADTECH CO.,LTD. have jointly developed it. A membrane of approximately 2m² and a few tens of micrometres in thickness is deployed to increase atmospheric drag, gradually reducing the satellite altitude. As a result, the deorbiting time will be reduced to just a few years.
RAISE-4 will demonstrate eight components, and D-SAIL demonstration is scheduled for about a year after launch. Axelspace plans to measure the atmospheric resistance actually experienced by its membrane and verify its performance in the orbital environment.
There is a growing global demand to mitigate the accumulation of space debris, exemplified by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandating that satellites in low Earth orbit be deorbited within five years after the end of their operational life. Axelspace equips its versatile satellite bus systems with D-SAIL as a standard feature, aiming to achieve sustainable satellite operations.