Tag: Japan
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Japan’s GOSAT-GW launches aboard final H-IIA rocket
The final flight of Japan’s H-IIA rocket took place on Saturday, carrying the GOSAT-GW environmental research satellite to orbit and ending a career that has spanned 24 years and 50 missions. Liftoff from the Tanegashima Space Center occurred on time at 16:33:03 UTC (1:33 AM local time on Sunday), the opening of a 19-minute window.…
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Launch Roundup: Launch manifest remains busy as 2025’s halfway point approaches
With summer and winter for the Northern and Southern Hemispheres now in full swing, the halfway point of 2025 is fast approaching, and the worldwide launch manifest continues to be as busy as ever. SpaceX has launched four Falcon 9 missions this week, with a private crewed mission to the International Space Station and three…
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Honda’s hopper suddenly makes the Japanese carmaker a serious player in rocketry
An experimental reusable rocket developed by the research and development arm of Honda Motor Company flew to an altitude of nearly 900 feet Tuesday, then landed with pinpoint precision at the carmaker’s test facility in northern Japan. The accomplishment may not sound like much, but it’s important to put it into perspective. Honda’s hopper is…
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Launch Roundup: Missions launched from the U.S., China, and Russia
On the heels of a busy launch week, this week saw a number of launches – and attempts – from around the globe. SpaceX was expected to launch five Falcon 9 missions, including a rideshare and the delayed Axiom-4 crewed mission. However, Axiom-4 was pushed back from June 22 for additional analysis and is now…
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A Japanese lander crashed on the Moon after losing track of its location
A robotic lander developed by a Japanese company named ispace plummeted to the Moon’s surface Thursday, destroying a small rover and several experiments intended to demonstrate how future missions could mine and harvest lunar resources. Ground teams at ispace’s mission control center in Tokyo lost contact with the Resilience lunar lander moments before it was…
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HAKUTO-R Mission 2 lost during landing attempt
Just over two years after the Japanese company ispace attempted but failed to land its HAKUTO-R Mission 1, the HAKUTO-R Mission 2 Resilience lander attempted a lunar landing this week but was not successful. Mission 2 was to touch down on the lunar surface at 60.5 degrees north and 4.6 degrees west, in Mare Frigoris,…
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Japan Defense Ministry Selects Space One, Space BD for Satellite Launch
The Japanese Ministry of Defense has selected Space BD and Space One to launch a small optical imaging satellite, marking a milestone in the country’s growing reliance on commercial space services for national security applications. The companies announced Tuesday they had secured a contract to launch the satellite, which will be built by Canon Electronics.…
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NASA Weighs Reducing ISS Crew and Research Amid Budget Constraints
NASA is considering scaling back the size of its International Space Station (ISS) crew and limiting research activities due to ongoing budget pressures, even before proposed cuts outlined in the U.S. government’s fiscal year 2026 request take effect. Speaking at a May 20 press briefing about the upcoming Ax-4 private astronaut mission, Dana Weigel, ISS…
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Rocket Report: Rocket Lab’s news blitz; Starship mishap blamed on vibrations
Welcome to Edition 7.33 of the Rocket Report! Phew, what a week for Rocket Lab! The company released a bevy of announcements in conjunction with its quarterly earnings report Thursday. Rocket Lab is spending a lot of money to develop the medium-lift Neutron rocket, and as we’ll discuss below, a rocket landing platform and a new…
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Astroscale aced the world’s first rendezvous with a piece of space junk
There’s a scene in the film Interstellar where Matthew McConaughey’s character flies his spaceplane up to meet a mothership spinning out of control. The protagonist rises to the challenge with a polished piece of piloting and successfully links up with his objective. Real life, of course, isn’t quite this dramatic. Slow down that spin to a…