Tag: IHI Aerospace
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U.S. cargo craft tests reboost capability at International Space Station
The Russian Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft, left, and Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo craft, right, are seen attached to the International Space Station in June. Credit: NASA A commercial Northrop Grumman Cygnus supply ship berthed at the International Space Station fired its main engine for 50 seconds Tuesday in a test of the spacecraft’s ability to reboost,…
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Souped-up sounding rocket lifts off from Japan with tiny satellite
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated at 9 a.m. EST (1400 GMT) on Feb. 3 after confirmation of successful flight. Video credit: JAXA A modified sounding rocket originally designed to loft science instruments on high-altitude suborbital arcs blasted off Saturday from the Uchinoura Space Center in southern Japan and soared into orbit to become the world’s smallest satellite launcher. The…
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Japanese radar satellite launched aboard third Epsilon booster
Japan’s Epsilon rocket delivered a civilian-operated radar imaging satellite to orbit Wednesday on a mission to demonstrate the performance of a new commercial spacecraft design and collect all-weather imagery for use in emergencies, mapping and global surveillance. Developed by NEC Corp., the ASNARO 2 satellite launched Wednesday was developed with $144 million from the Japanese…
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Experimental flight of Japanese sounding rocket falls short of orbit
Credit: JAXA A small research rocket launched from Japan fell into the Pacific Ocean on Saturday after attempting to send a student-built CubeSat into orbit, Japanese officials said. The three-stage rocket took off at 2333 GMT (6:33 p.m. EST) Saturday from the Uchinoura Space Center in southern Japan’s Kagoshima prefecture, four days after inclement weather…
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Launch of experimental Japanese rocket scrubbed
The SS-520-4 launcher is in position for liftoff in this photo from the Uchinoura Space Center taken Monday. Credit: JAXA The launch of an experimental fin-stabilized Japanese rocket with a shoebox-sized CubeSat was scrubbed Tuesday, pushing back a test flight to demonstrate how companies and institutions can inexpensively put small satellites in space. The modified…
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Live coverage: Japan’s enhanced Epsilon booster blasts off
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of an Epsilon rocket rocket with Japan’s Exploration of Energization and Radiation in Geospace, or ERG, mission. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter. JAXA’s live video stream begins at 1040 GMT (5:40 a.m. EST).
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Research platform launched to brave Van Allen radiation belts
The Epsilon rocket blasted off at 1100 GMT (6 a.m. EST; 8 p.m. Japan Standard Time) Tuesday. Credit: JAXA Japan launched a research satellite Tuesday to repeatedly fly through the Van Allen belts high above Earth, helping scientists sort out how chaotic geomagnetic storms form and evolve and potentially endanger astronauts, spacecraft and infrastructure vital…
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Japan prepares launch of satellite to probe Earth’s radiation belts
Artist’s concept of the ERG spacecraft in orbit, backdropped by an false-color illustration of Earth’s magnetosphere. Credit: JAXA Japanese engineers aim to launch an upgraded Epsilon booster Tuesday with a satellite to study the origins of powerful geomagnetic storms, phenomena that trigger picturesque polar auroras but could disrupt communications and and damage electric grids. The…
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Timeline of events during Epsilon rocket’s launch with the ERG mission
The ground track for the Epsilon rocket’s launch with Japan’s ERG mission. Credit: JAXA An Epsilon rocket is set to send a Japanese space weather research probe into an orbit stretching more than 20,000 miles (33,000 kilometers) above Earth to investigate how the Van Allen radiation belts shrink and swell with variable solar activity. The Exploration of…