Tag: JAXA
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Live coverage: H-2A rocket delivers on 30th flight
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of an H-2A rocket with the Astro-H X-ray astronomy mission. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.
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Launch of Japanese X-ray observatory postponed
Ground crews prepare the Astro-H spacecraft for launch at the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. Credit: JAXA The Japanese space agency said Thursday the launch of an X-ray astrophysics observatory is postponed from Friday due to a poor weather forecast at the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan. The Astro-H mission is awaiting launch aboard…
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Asteroid probe confirmed on good trajectory after Earth flyby
Artist’s concept of the Hayabusa 2 spacecraft near Earth. Credit: JAXA A Japanese space probe picked up just the right amount of speed when it flew by Earth earlier this month, using the planet’s gravity to slingshot toward an asteroid scientists think is a primordial leftover from the ancient solar system, mission managers said Monday.…
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Three space station fliers set for landing Friday
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren, Russian Soyuz commander Oleg Kononenko and Japanese flight engineer Kimiya Yui are scheduled to return to Earth on Friday. Credit: NASA In a rapid-fire crew exchange, three space station fliers return to Earth Friday morning, landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan just four days…
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Akatsuki probe relays its first images from Venus orbit
The Akatsuki spacecraft’s ultraviolet camera took this image of Venus at 0519 GMT (12:19 a.m. EST) on Dec. 7 from a distance of 73,000 kilometers (45,000 miles). Credit: JAXA Japanese scientists released Wednesday the first views of Venus captured by the Akatsuki spacecraft after arriving in orbit this week, setting the stage for regular observations…
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Japanese probe fires rockets to steer into orbit at Venus
Updated at 0315 GMT (10:15 p.m. EST) Artist’s concept of the Akatsuki spacecraft. Five years after missing a shot to enter orbit at Venus, Japan’s Akatsuki spacecraft completed a critical rocket burn late Sunday in a bid to salvage the research mission and become the only space probe operating around Earth’s nearest planetary neighbor. Four…
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Japanese H-IIA successfully lofts Telstar 12V
Japan has conducted its first dedicated commercial satellite launch Tuesday, with an H-IIA rocket carrying a Canadian communications spacecraft, Telstar 12V, into orbit. The launch departed Japan’s Tanegashima Space Centre within a 104-minute launch window, with a T-0 of 15:50 local time (06:50 UTC) following a delay caused by a boat entering the range. H-IIA…
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Tiny thrusters to do heavy lifting as Japanese probe approaches Venus
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…
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Target of Japanese space mission named for dragon’s palace
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…
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HTV supply ship sets course for re-entry
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…