PRELUDE is a student-developed 6U CubeSat created by Professor Yamazaki’s laboratory at Nihon University and launched through JAXA’s Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration Program.
Designed to advance research into potential electromagnetic precursors to earthquakes, the initiative turns hands-on engineering education into a real space mission. Students take responsibility for designing, manufacturing, testing, integrating, and operating a satellite in orbit.
Autodesk Fusion supports the development process through shared CAD, CAM, CAE, ECAD, generative design, and collaboration capabilities. Its cloud-based data management helps multidisciplinary teams work from a single source of truth.
Generative design optimizes mission-critical structures, reducing weight by 23%, increasing stiffness by 3.5 times, and reducing part counts within the constraints of a 6U spacecraft.
PRELUDE demonstrates how digital engineering, AI-assisted design, and project-based learning turn student ideas into flight-ready technology with scientific and educational impact.
