WINDS

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Orbital elements
WINDS (Kizuna)
Organisation	JAXA/NICT
Mission type	Comsat
Satellite of	Earth
Launch date	23 February 2008
Carrier Rocket	H-IIA
Mission duration	5 years (design)
NSSDC ID	2008-007A
Webpage	JAXA
Mass	Launch: 4,850 kg On Orbit: 2,750 kg
Power	Solar panels
Regime	Geosynchronous
Longitude	143^oE
Inclination	0^o
Orbital period	24 hours
Apoapsis	~35,786 km
Periapsis	~35,786 km

WINDS (Wideband InterNetworking engineering test and Demonstration Satellite, also known as Kizuna), is a Japanese communication satellite. Launch was originally scheduled for 2007. The launch date was eventually set for 15 February 2008, however a problem detected in a second stage manoeuvring thruster delayed it to 23 February. Lift-off occurred at 08:55 GMT on 23 February, and the satellite separated from the carrier rocket, into a Geosynchronous transfer orbit at 09:23, launched by an H-IIA carrier rocket from the Tanegashima Space Centre. It will be used to relay the internet to Japanese homes and businesses, through Ka-Band signals. It will also develop technologies to be utilised by future Japanese communication spacecraft. It is part of Japan's i-Space programme, and is to be operated by JAXA and NICT.

JAXA claim that WINDS will be able to provide 155 Mbit/s download speed to home users with 45-centimetre diameter satellite dishes, whilst providing industrial users, via 5-metre diameter dishes, with 1.2 Gbit/s speeds.^[1]

WINDS has a launch mass of 4,850 kg, reducing to around 2,750 kg when in orbit. The spacecraft is 8 m x 3 m x 2 m in size, and its solar panels have a span of 21.5 metres. It has three-axis stabilisation, and a design life expectancy of five years.