Tag: Japan

  • Tiny thrusters to do heavy lifting as Japanese probe approaches Venus

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    Artist’s concept of Japan’s Akatsuki spacecraft at Venus. Credit: JAXA/Akihiro Ikeshita Inside a month until its next chance to swing into orbit around Venus, Japan’s Akatsuki spacecraft has weathered unexpectedly “severe” conditions after missing an arrival opportunity in 2010, according to the mission’s project scientist. The space probe accomplished its last targeting maneuver Oct. 11…

  • Target of Japanese space mission named for dragon’s palace

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    Artist’s concept of the Hayabusa 2 spacecraft at asteroid Ryugu. Credit: JAXA/Akihiro Ikeshita The Japanese space agency has selected Ryugu as the name of an asteroid pursued by the country’s Hayabusa 2 space probe, naming the object after a dragon’s palace in an ancient Japanese fairy tale, officials said Monday. A selection committee picked the…

  • HTV supply ship sets course for re-entry

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    The HTV-5 supply ship flies away from the space station after release from the robotic arm Monday. Credit: NASA TV/Spaceflight Now Heading for a destructive re-entry over the South Pacific with several tons of trash, Japan’s fifth HTV cargo craft departed the International Space Station on Monday after overcoming a last-minute snag in the lab’s…

  • Japanese X-ray observatory completes decade-long mission

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    Artist’s concept of the Suzaku satellite. Credit: NASA/JAXA An orbiting astronomical observatory launched 10 years ago to probe violent stellar explosions and black holes has been deactivated after it stopped regularly communicating with the ground, the Japanese space agency said Thursday. The Suzaku satellite spent a decade watching some of the most energetic parts of…

  • Photos: HTV supply ship glistens on approach to ISS

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    Photos captured by astronauts on the International Space Station show a Japanese cargo freighter, covered with reflective solar panels and golden insulation, on final approach to the 250-mile-high outpost. The fifth HTV supply ship delivered more than 9,500 pounds of cargo to the space station Monday after a five-day trip from a Japanese launch pad,…

  • Japanese HTV supply carrier reaches space station

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    Japan’s fifth HTV cargo freighter is seen in the grasp of the space station’s robotic arm Monday. Credit: NASA/JAXA/Kimiya Yui Japan’s fifth HTV cargo freighter completed a five-day flight to the International Space Station on Monday, making a glacial laser-guided approach to the complex with a 9,500-pound package of food, spare parts and experiments. The…

  • Live coverage: Japanese cargo craft arrives at space station

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    Live coverage of the countdown and launch of an H-2B rocket and Japan’s fifth H-2 Transfer Vehicle on a resupply flight to the International Space Station. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.

  • H-2B rocket launch sends supply shipment to space station

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    A cache of critical cargo stowed inside a solar-powered Japanese resupply freighter is speeding toward a rendezvous with the International Space Station after a successful launch Wednesday. Among the supplies inside Japan’s fifth H-2 Transfer Vehicle are spare parts for the space station’s water filtration system, spacesuit components and medical gear to replace items lost…

  • Japanese rocket ready to launch supplies to space station

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    Japan’s H-2B rocket rolled out to the launch pad at the Tanegashima Space Center on Wednesday for final countdown preparations. Credit: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries A Japanese HTV cargo craft is being prepped for liftoff Wednesday with a much-needed shipment of provisions for the International Space Station’s six-person crew after a spate of failures strained the…

  • Stormy forecast prompts delay for Japanese resupply mission

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    Japanese technicians prepare the fifth H-2 Transfer Vehicle for launch at the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. Credit: JAXA The launch of a Japanese cargo ship with more than 4.5 tons of supplies bound for the International Space Station has been rescheduled for Wednesday due to a poor weather forecast at the mission’s island launch…