LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Sato Lab
Machine-translated · View original
An aerospace engineering lab researching hypersonic engines that cool the air they take in.
AboutAbout the lab
Supporting future spaceplanes, starting from the engine.
Sato Lab is advancing research and development of hypersonic precooled turbojet engines in collaboration with JAXA and other universities.
A precooled turbojet engine has a mechanism that cools the air as it takes it in, and can operate continuously over a wide range from the ground up to Mach 6.
Aiming to realize future spaceplanes and hypersonic aircraft, the lab researches engines and their component technologies.
Key terms
- Precooled turbojet engine
- A jet engine that can be used even at high Mach numbers by cooling the air in advance, before the compressor
- Gas-liquid two-phase flow
- Flow in which gas and liquid are mixed together and flow as one
- Boundary layer
- A thin layer of air near the surface of an object where the flow velocity is reduced
NewsLab news
A research group led by Prof. Sato succeeded in a Mach 5 combustion test of a hypersonic experimental vehicle
A student received the Hatakeyama Award from the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers
A student received the Student Award from the Japan Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences
A student received the Outstanding Student Award from the Society of Instrument and Control Engineers
A student received the Dean's Award of the School of Fundamental Science and Engineering
ResearchResearch themes
Aiming to realize future spaceplanes and hypersonic aircraft, the lab is advancing research and development of hypersonic precooled turbojet engines jointly with JAXA and other universities. It studies the engines and their component technologies broadly, from the system level down to the details.
*Illustrative imageHIMICO Project (Integrated Control Experiment)
The lab is advancing the HIMICO project jointly with JAXA and other universities, which demonstrates integrated vehicle-engine control technology during hypersonic flight using an experimental vehicle mounted on a sounding rocket.
*Illustrative imageTBCC Combined Cycle Engine
The lab studies component technologies for the TBCC (turbine-based combined cycle) engine, which combines a turbo-ramjet engine for low speeds with a scramjet engine for high speeds.
*Illustrative imageElucidating Frost Formation in Precoolers
The lab studies frost formation on the surface of heat transfer tubes in the air precooler of precooled turbojet engines, using both experiments and mathematical models.
*Illustrative imageGas-Liquid Two-Phase Flow of Liquid Hydrogen
The lab investigates the flow characteristics of gas-liquid two-phase flow, in which liquid hydrogen used as fuel boils inside piping and the gas and liquid phases mix, using the development of measurement techniques and machine learning.
MembersFaculty
Sato Lab consists of faculty members and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorTetsuya Sato
- Assistant ProfessorChitsuhiro Fujio
VoicesStudent voices
Compiled from answers by students who were in the lab. Ratings and reviews reflect individual students' experiences, not the lab's official views.
Students who take part in an interview may receive a thank-you gift worth ¥1,000, regardless of what they say.
On a 4-point scale, ● marks where students' answers fall
Who is this lab for?
What's great about this lab?
What did you learn after joining?
What's the vibe, and what is the professor like?
Where do graduates go?
RelatedLabs similar to Sato Lab
Ohta LabSchool of Fundamental Science and Engineering, Department of Applied Mechanics and Aerospace EngineeringFluid engineering and turbomachinery
Fujisawa LabSchool of Fundamental Science and Engineering, Department of Applied Mechanics and Aerospace EngineeringFluid engineering and turbomachinery
Miyagawa LabSchool of Fundamental Science and Engineering, Department of Applied Mechanics and Aerospace EngineeringFluid machinery and turbomachinery
Tezuka LabSchool of Fundamental Science and Engineering, Department of Applied Mechanics and Aerospace EngineeringAerodynamics; flow around bodies; safe aircraft operationThe information on this page is compiled by the LabLog team from the lab's public information and interviews. For corrections or removal requests, please contact LabLog, not the lab.
Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “J58 AfterburnerT” NASA / Public domain (cropped)
- HIMICO Project (Integrated Control Experiment): “Talos Terrier Oriole Nihka sounding rocket VISIONS launch at Poker Flat” NASA Goddard Space Flight Center / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- TBCC Combined Cycle Engine: “Differential gear 001” Tennen-Gas / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Elucidating Frost Formation in Precoolers: “Dülmen, Hausdülmen, Zaun einer Wiese” Dietmar Rabich / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Gas-Liquid Two-Phase Flow of Liquid Hydrogen: “Liquidnitrogen” Cory Doctorow / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (太田研究室): “Blades of an axial compressor rotor, Deutsches Museum” Wilfredor / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (藤澤研究室): “CFM56 High Pressure Compressor Rotor” Nubifer / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (宮川研究室): “Cavitating-prop” U.S. Navy / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (手塚
研究室): “Looking down the throat of a Wind Tunnel GPN” NACA / Public domain (cropped)
About LabLog
LabLog is a lab review app for students only. Student members at each university interview students in labs and publish what they say. Student voices can only be read by students who sign up with a university email address. Operated by bestiee Inc.
Learn more about LabLog ↗Search engines and AI may reference the basic lab info and rating summaries on this page and the description of LabLog. Student voices are for student members only. Automated collection by programs (scraping, or input to or training of AI) is prohibited under Article 8 of the Terms of Service. If you need data for research or analysis, please contact us.