Kagawa University

Kagawa University was founded in 1949 in Takamatsu, Shikoku Island, Japan. While a comprehensive regional university, it has established an internationally recognised space programme through the STARS (Space Tethered Autonomous Robotic Satellite) project, developed in collaboration with Kyoto University.

Kagawa University was the primary development site for STARS-C — a tethered satellite system launched on December 9, 2016 aboard the Kounotori 6 (HTV-6) cargo vehicle and deployed from the International Space Station in January 2017. STARS-C consists of a Mother satellite and Daughter satellite connected by a 100-metre Kevlar/copper tether, demonstrating electrodynamic tether propulsion — a technology that could enable fuel-free orbital manoeuvring using the Earth's magnetic field. The mission built on the earlier STARS-II satellite (2014) and validated key tether deployment mechanisms.

The STARS programme has given Kagawa University a unique identity in the global CubeSat community as a specialist in tethered satellite systems. The research has direct applications in space debris removal, passive deorbit, and deep space propulsion concepts that do not rely on conventional chemical propellants.