Re-Entry: EXOS B
The Japanese EXOS-B (Jikiken) satellite re-entered the atmosphere on April 22, 2018 after nearly four decades in orbit following liftoff in September 1978 atop an Mu-3H launch vehicle.
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Japan
Re-Entry: STARS-C
Japan’s STARS-C technology demonstration CubeSat re-entered the atmosphere on March 2, 2018 after nearly 15 months in orbit following deployment from the International Space Station.
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Eyes on Target: Japan’s Hayabusa 2 Takes First Images of Asteroid Ryugu
Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft – on a quest to touch an asteroid – has set its sight on its destination in late February via the first detection of asteroid Ryugu by the craft’s Telescopic Optical Navigation Camera that will be used to guide it into close proximity to the distant world later this year.
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Japan’s H-IIA Rocket Sends IGS Optical 6 Reconnaissance Satellite into Orbit
Blasting into clear skies over the Tanegashima Space Center, Japan’s H-IIA rocket embarked on a clandestine mission on Tuesday to launch the country’s next sharply-eyed optical reconnaissance satellite flying under the Information Gathering Satellite Program.
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Japan’s SS-520 CubeSat Launch Vehicle Achieves Success on Second Try
A beefed-up sounding rocket-turned-orbital-launch-vehicle zoomed into the skies over Japan’s Kyushu Island on Saturday in a bid to become the smallest launch vehicle to successfully achieve orbit one year after its inaugural test flight crashed into the Pacific Ocean.
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World’s Smallest Launch Vehicle Ready for Second Attempt at Reaching Orbit
Just over a year after crashing into the Pacific Ocean on its first test flight, Japan’s SS-520 sounding-rocket-turned-orbital-launch-vehicle stands ready for another try to become the world’s smallest orbital launch vehicle, just powerful enough to lift a three-Kilogram CubeSat.
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ISS Spacewalk Pushed to February after Successful Troubleshooting on Canadarm2 End Effector
International Space Station managers decided on Sunday to postpone a scheduled spacewalk from Monday after additional diagnostics performed on the Station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm showed a connectivity problem on the primary command string of the newly-installed Latching End Effector could be solved through software.
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Postponed — ISS Spacewalkers Prepare for Revised EVA Scenario to Backtrack Robotic Arm Work
Spacewalkers aboard the International Space Station will be forced to backtrack on Monday, reversing work completed on a January 23 excursion after controllers on the ground were unable to establish a redundant command path to the newly-installed grappling hand on the Station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm.
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Pre-Dawn Epsilon Liftoff Sends Japanese Radar-Imaging Satellite into Orbit
Japan’s third Epsilon rocket fired into the pre-dawn skies over Kyushu Island Thursday morning, carrying into orbit the ASNARO-2 radar-imaging satellite setting out to demonstrate a compact satellite platform capable of hosting high-performance instruments matching large flagship satellite missions in data quality.
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Photos: Japan’s Epsilon Rocket Soars into the Night with ASNARO-2 Radar Satellite
Japan’s third Epsilon rocket lifted off from the Uchinoura Space Center on Kyushu Island at 21:06:11 UTC on January 17, 2018 with the ASNARO-2 radar-imaging satellite joining a program dedicated to the creation of a high-performance small satellite platform that can match the capabilities of flagship satellite missions.
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Video: Epsilon Rocket Launches ASNARO-2 Radar Satellite
Japan’s third Epsilon rocket lifted off from the Uchinoura Space Center on Kyushu Island at 21:06:11 UTC on January 17, 2018 with the ASNARO-2 radar-imaging satellite joining a program dedicated to the creation of a high-performance small satellite platform that can match the capabilities of flagship satellite missions.
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Japan’s Third Epsilon Rocket to Launch ASNARO-2 Radar Satellite
Japan’s Epsilon rocket is gearing up for liftoff from the country’s Uchinoura Space Center on Wednesday with the ASNARO-2 satellite – a compact, but high-performance radar-imaging satellite packing a high-resolution X-band radar into a compact satellite platform.
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Photos: H-IIA Blasts Off Ocean-Side Launch Pad with Climate Observatory & Technology Satellite
Japan’s H-IIA rocket thundered off from the Tanegashima Space Center at 1:26:22 UTC on December 23, 2017 with the GCOM-C climate observatory and the SLATS Super-Low Altitude Test Satellite.
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Japanese H-IIA Rocket Fires Into Orbit with Climate Change Satellite & Super-Low Altitude Testbed
Japan’s H-IIA rocket leapt off its sea-side launch pad on Tanegashima Island at 10:26 a.m. local time, 1:26 UTC on Saturday, soaring into orbit with a high-profile climate observation satellite and a technology demonstration spacecraft set for a mission orbiting the edge of the atmosphere to develop previously unused orbital real estate.
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Video: H-IIA Rocket Lifts Off with GCOM-C & SLATS Satellites
Japan’s H-IIA rocket thundered off from the Tanegashima Space Center at 1:26:22 UTC on December 23, 2017 with the GCOM-C climate observatory and the SLATS Super-Low Altitude Test Satellite.
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H-IIA Rocket to Close Out Record-Setting Year with Multi-Orbit Mission of GCOM-C1 & SLATS
Japan’s H-IIA rocket is gearing up for its sixth and final launch of the year, set for a Saturday liftoff from the picturesque Tanegashima Space Center to send a pair of very different satellites into orbit
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Final Building Block for Japanese Navigation Constellation Arrives in Orbit
Japan’s H-IIA rocket blasted off from Tanegashima Island Tuesday morning with the final building block in the country’s regional navigation system, designed to improve GPS navigation services in the street canyons of the island nation’s largest cities and deliver enhanced navigation accuracy to aid air traffic control.
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