Project Imua Mission 1 involved the development of a small payload named PIP ("Project Imua Payload") that carried a UV spectrometer and IMU detectors. This Mission participated in RockSat-X 2015. PIP was launched into space on a sub-orbital trajectory from NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on August 12, 2015. Its15-minute sub-orbital flight attained an apogee of 96 miles. The PIP payload consisted of an ultraviolet spectrometer for measuring solar irradiance, an array of photosensors for determining the payload’s orientation to the sun and a 9-axis motion detector. This was the first payload launched into space by the University of Hawaii system.

View/Download the Mission 1 Final Report

Payload specs

     Dimension of Housing: approximately 8.25" x 8.25" x 4.5"

     Weight with baseplate: 14.8 lbs

     Material: aluminum 6061, teflon and lead ballast

Instruments & Other Assignments:

     •  Ultraviolet Spectrometer with Cosine Receptor (KauCC)

     •  Photosensor array for monitoring sun's orientation (HonCC)

     •  IMU [9-axis motion detector with pressure device] (HonCC)

     •  Print Circuit Board (KapCC)

     •  Integration, Testing and Coordination (WinCC)

Name: PIP

     •  acronym for "Project Imua Payload"

Pip also refers to a "seed" — which is representative of the newly established four-campus UHCC enterprise that constitutes Project Imua. Additionally, according to the Urban dictionary, PIP indicates "something that tends to be annoyingly difficult, yet still irresistibly likeable."