2025-08-05 –, Kuiper Atrium
By utilizing the public datasets archived at DARTS, which ISAS/JAXA operates, we investigate the systematic attitude difference between the International Space Station (ISS) and the Monitor of All-Sky X-ray Image (MAXI) installed on the exposed part of the Japanese Experiment Module on the ISS. We have found that the attitude difference is the smallest around the longest axis of the ISS and greater in the two other perpendicular axes. We applied the Lomb-Scargle periodicity detection algorithm and detected short-term (~92 minutes) and long-term (~60 days) periodic variations in the attitude differences. The former is likely related to the orbital period, and the latter is to the angle variation between the Sun and the ISS orbital plane. Current results are expected to provide insights into the structure and distortion of the ISS body.
