Q: What is STARS‑AO?

A: STARS‑AO is a Japanese 1‑U CubeSat that carries a miniature space telescope, built to demonstrate astronomical observation capabilities on a nanosatellite platform.

Q: When and how was STARS‑AO launched?

A: It was launched on 29 October 2018 at 04:08 UTC from the Yoshinobu Launch Complex on an H‑IIA‑40 launch vehicle.

Q: Who built and operated STARS‑AO?

A: Shizuoka University in Japan designed, manufactured, and operated the satellite.

Q: How long did STARS‑AO function in orbit?

A: The satellite transmitted data until 10 May 2019, when contact was lost, giving it roughly seven months of operational life.

Q: What was the purpose of STARS‑AO?

A: Its primary goal was to demonstrate that a CubeSat could host a functional space telescope for astronomical observations, paving the way for low‑cost space science missions.

STARS-AO

Japanese CubeSat space telescope

Vehicle Space Telescope Q60769671

Facts

17 properties

Instance of: space telescope, technology demonstration spacecraft, CubeSat, nanosatellite^[3]^[4]^[5]
Country: Japan^[2]
Official website: stars-ao.info^[14]
Website: stars-ao.info
Launch date: 2018-10-29
Country of origin: Japan^[9]
Launch vehicle: H-IIA
Manufacturer: Shizuoka University^[7]
Mass: 1 kg^[16]
Operator: Shizuoka University^[6]
Satellite of: low Earth orbit
Significant event: rocket launch (2018), loss of signal (2019)^[12]^[13]
Space launch vehicle: H-IIA^[8]
Start point: Yoshinobu Launch Complex Launch Pad 1^[15]
Type of orbit: low Earth orbit^[10]
UTC date of spacecraft launch: October 29, 2018^[11]
Volume as quantity: 1 cubesat unit^[17]

🏷️ Also known as

en Aoi en STARS-AO en STARS - Astronomical Observations

🔖 Identifiers · 5

COSPAR ID: 2018-084J
Described at URL: stars.eng.shizuoka.ac.jp
Google Knowledge Graph ID: /g/11gycj9_pz
NSSDCA ID: 2018-084J
SCN: 43679

Report an error or request removal Lineage (PROV-JSON)

🔗 Connections

Instance of 4

space telescope, CubeSat, nanosatellite, technology demonstration spacecraft

Country 1

Japan

Country of origin 1

Japan

Manufacturer 1

Shizuoka University

Operator 1

Shizuoka University

Significant event 1

rocket launch

Space launch vehicle 1

H-IIA

Type of orbit 1

low Earth orbit

Press Enter · cited answer in seconds

Summary

STARS-AO is a space telescope^[1].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

[2] ↑ STARS-AO — country (P17): Japan. space.skyrocket.de. space.skyrocket.de. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[3] ↑ STARS-AO — instance of (P31): technology demonstration spacecraft. wikidata.org.
[4] ↑ STARS-AO — instance of (P31): CubeSat. space.skyrocket.de. space.skyrocket.de. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[5] ↑ STARS-AO — instance of (P31): nanosatellite. wikidata.org.
[6] ↑ STARS-AO — operator (P137): Shizuoka University. space.skyrocket.de. space.skyrocket.de. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[7] ↑ STARS-AO — manufacturer (P176): Shizuoka University. space.skyrocket.de. space.skyrocket.de. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[8] ↑ STARS-AO — space launch vehicle (P375): H-IIA. Jonathan's Space Report. wikidata.org.
[9] ↑ STARS-AO — country of origin (P495): Japan. space.skyrocket.de. space.skyrocket.de. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[10] ↑ STARS-AO — type of orbit (P522): low Earth orbit. wikidata.org.
[11] ↑ STARS-AO — UTC date of spacecraft launch (P619): October 29, 2018. Jonathan's Space Report. wikidata.org.
[12] ↑ STARS-AO — significant event (P793): rocket launch. Jonathan's Space Report. wikidata.org.
[13] ↑ STARS-AO — significant event (P793): loss of signal. stars.eng.shizuoka.ac.jp. stars.eng.shizuoka.ac.jp. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[14] ↑ STARS-AO — official website (P856): https://stars-ao.info/. wikidata.org.
[15] ↑ STARS-AO — start point (P1427): Yoshinobu Launch Complex Launch Pad 1. Jonathan's Space Report. wikidata.org.
[16] ↑ STARS-AO — mass (P2067): 1 kg. nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[17] ↑ STARS-AO — volume as quantity (P2234): 1 cubesat unit. space.skyrocket.de. space.skyrocket.de. Provenance: wikidata.org.

Class ancestry

[1] ↑ STARS-AO is an instance of space telescope (Q148578) [P31, primary]. Wikidata. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). STARS-AO. Retrieved November 12, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/stars-ao

MLA “STARS-AO.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 12 Nov. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/stars-ao.

BibTeX

@misc{4ortxyz_stars-ao_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{STARS-AO}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/stars-ao}, note = {Accessed: 2026-11-12}}

LLM prompt

According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): STARS-AO — https://4ort.xyz/entity/stars-ao (retrieved 2026-11-12)

Canonical URL: https://4ort.xyz/entity/stars-ao · Last refreshed: November 12, 2026