Misplaced Pages

#100899

74-456: The Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration Program is a series of spacecraft missions for testing technology and ideas put forward by universities and private companies. The program demonstrates various experimental devices and technology in space by providing flight opportunities. It is managed by the JAXA Research and Development Directorate. According to JAXA, the goal of this program

148-625: A hard X-ray detector (HXD). However, the XRS was rendered inoperable due to a malfunction which caused the satellite to lose its supply of liquid helium. The next JAXA x-ray mission is the Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) . MAXI continuously monitors astronomical X-ray objects over a broad energy band (0.5 to 30 keV). MAXI is installed on the Japanese external module of the ISS. On 17 February 2016, Hitomi (ASTRO-H)

222-496: A circular parking orbit of about 60 nautical miles (110 km; 69 mi). Orbital periods vary according to the sum of apoapsis and periapsis , and for the CSM were about two hours. The LM began its landing sequence with a Descent Orbit Insertion (DOI) burn to lower their periapsis to about 50,000 feet (15 km; 8.2 nmi), chosen to avoid hitting lunar mountains reaching heights of 20,000 feet (6.1 km; 3.3 nmi). After

296-501: A distance of 690 km (430 mi). The Lagrange points of the Earth-Moon system can provide stable orbits in the lunar vicinity, such as halo orbits and distant retrograde orbits . Some halo orbits remain over particular regions of the lunar surface. These can be used by lunar relay satellites to communicate with surface stations on the far side of the Moon . The first to do this

370-747: A figure-8 trajectory which swung around the far side of the Moon and returned to the Earth. This craft provided the first pictures of the far side of the Lunar surface. Luna 10 became the first spacecraft to actually orbit the Moon and any extraterrestrial body in April 1966. It studied micrometeoroid flux, and lunar environment until May 30, 1966. A follow-on mission, Luna 11 , was launched on August 24, 1966, and studied lunar gravitational anomalies, radiation and solar wind measurements. The first United States spacecraft to orbit

444-452: A future mission. On 14 September 2007, JAXA succeeded in launching the lunar orbit explorer Kaguya , also known as SELENE, on an H-2A rocket (costing 55 billion yen including launch vehicle), the largest such mission since the Apollo program . Its mission was to gather data on the Moon's origin and evolution . It entered lunar orbit on 4 October 2007. After 1 year and 8 months, it impacted

518-607: A miniature satellite into orbit atop one of its SS520 series rockets. A second attempt on 2 February 2018 was successful, putting a four kilogram CubeSat into Earth orbit. The rocket, known as the SS-520-5, is the world's smallest orbital launcher. In 2023, JAXA began operating the H3 , which will replace the H-IIA and H-IIIB; the H3 is a liquid-fueled launch vehicle developed from a completely new design like

592-450: A multispectral camera, and STARS-X will extend a 1 km long tether and collect space debris . For the CubeSats, MAGNARO was to demonstrate formation flight , MITSUBA was to test the degrading of COTS semiconductor parts, KOSEN-2 was to collect marine observation data, and WASEDA-SAT-ZERO was to demonstrate an integrated satellite chassis. On 19 April 2022, IHI Aerospace (IA),

666-475: A phenomenon in which the cloud top winds in the troposphere circulates around the planet faster than the speed that Venus itself rotates. A thorough explanation for this phenomenon has yet been found. JAXA/ISAS was part of the international Laplace Jupiter mission proposal from its foundation. A Japanese contribution was sought in the form of an independent orbiter to research Jupiter's magnetosphere, JMO (Jupiter Magnetospheric Orbiter). Although JMO never left

740-447: A proposal by IHI Corporation , the "Demonstration experiment of an innovative ship information receiving system" was later dropped, dropping the number of projects reaching space to 13. Seven projects were tested on board RAPIS-1, either as parts or components. Three projects flew as microsatellites, and three more as CubeSats . Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-1 was successfully launched on 18 January 2019. Payloads flown on

814-546: A spacecraft can stay in a low orbit indefinitely. The Apollo 15 subsatellite PFS-1 and the Apollo 16 subsatellite PFS-2 , both small satellites released from the Apollo Service Module , contributed to this discovery. PFS-1 ended up in a long-lasting orbit, at 28° inclination , and successfully completed its mission after one and a half years. PFS-2 was placed in a particularly unstable orbital inclination of 11°, and lasted only 35 days in orbit before crashing into

SECTION 10

#1732876845101

888-476: Is Explore to Realize (formerly Reaching for the skies, exploring space ). On 1 October 2003, three organizations were merged to form the new JAXA: Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), the National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan (NAL), and National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). JAXA was formed as an Independent Administrative Institution administered by

962-518: Is an orbit below 100 km (62 mi) altitude. These have a period of about 2 hours. They are of particular interest in the exploration of the Moon , but suffer from gravitational perturbations that make most unstable, and leave only a few orbital trajectories possible for indefinite frozen orbits . These would be useful for long-term stays in LLO. Most lunar low orbits below 100 km (60 mi) are unstable. Gravitational anomalies slightly distorting

1036-556: Is equipped with a transmitter with half the power consumption and a data transmission rate per second 32 times larger than a traditional amateur radio transmitter. NEXUS will demonstrate packet radio in space. The satellite decayed from orbit on 9 November 2023. The call for proposals for Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-2, the second mission of the program, was announced in July 2018, and selection results were announced in December of

1110-471: Is not pointed towards Earth. The mission was considered fully successful after confirmation that its primary goal, landing within 100 m (330 ft) of the target was achieved, despite subsequent issues. On 29 January, the lander resumed operations after being shutdown for a week. JAXA said it re-established contact with the lander and its solar cells were working again after a shift in lighting conditions allowed it to catch sunlight. After that, SLIM

1184-503: Is planned to have a temperature of just 4.5 K and will be much colder. Unlike Akari, which had a geocentric orbit , SPICA will be located at Sun–Earth L 2 . The launch is expected in 2027 or 2028 on JAXA's new H3 Launch Vehicle , however the mission is not yet fully funded. ESA and NASA may also each contribute an instrument. The SPICA mission was cancelled in 2020. Starting from 1979 with Hakucho (CORSA-b), for nearly two decades Japan had achieved continuous observation. However, in

1258-508: Is reviewing a new spacecraft mission to the Martian system; a sample return mission to Phobos called MMX (Martian Moons Explorer). First revealed on 9 June 2015, MMX's primary goal is to determine the origin of the Martian moons . Alongside collecting samples from Phobos, MMX will perform remote sensing of Deimos , and may also observe the atmosphere of Mars as well. As of December 2023, MMX

1332-476: Is the Japanese national air and space agency . Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into orbit , and is involved in many more advanced missions such as asteroid exploration and possible human exploration of the Moon . Its motto is One JAXA and its corporate slogan

1406-515: Is the first all sky survey since the first infrared mission IRAS in 1983. (A 3.6 kg nanosatellite named CUTE-1.7 was also released from the same launch vehicle.) JAXA is also doing further R&D for increasing the performance of its mechanical coolers for its future infrared mission, SPICA . This would enable a warm launch without liquid helium. SPICA has the same size as the ESA Herschel Space Observatory mission, but

1480-456: Is to be launched in fiscal year 2026. On 9 August 2004, ISAS successfully deployed two prototype solar sails from a sounding rocket. A clover-type sail was deployed at 122 km altitude and a fan type sail was deployed at 169 km altitude. Both sails used 7.5 micrometer -thick film. ISAS tested a solar sail again as a sub-payload to the Akari (ASTRO-F) mission on 22 February 2006. However

1554-566: Is to have a solar sail mission to Jupiter after 2020. The first Japanese astronomy mission was the X-ray satellite Hakucho (CORSA-b), which was launched in 1979. Later ISAS moved into solar observation, radio astronomy through space VLBI and infrared astronomy. Active Missions: SOLAR-B , MAXI , SPRINT-A , CALET , XRISM Under Development: Retired: HALCA , ASTRO-F , ASTRO-EII , and ASTRO-H Cancelled(C)/Failed(F): ASTRO-E (F), ASTRO-G (C), Japan's infrared astronomy began with

SECTION 20

#1732876845101

1628-665: Is to test high risk, innovative technology that will lead to the space industry gaining competitiveness in the international field. Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-1 was the first mission in the Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration Program. The mission included several spacecraft, the largest being RAPIS-1 , along with six smaller satellites. The call for proposals was announced in 2015, and selection results were announced in February 2016. A total of 14 projects were selected; however

1702-727: The H-II Transfer Vehicle six times. This cargo spacecraft was responsible for resupplying the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module on the International Space Station . To be able to launch smaller mission on JAXA developed a new solid-fueled rocket, the Epsilon as a replacement to the retired M-V . The maiden flight successfully happened in 2013. So far, the rocket has flown six times with one launch failure. In January 2017, JAXA attempted and failed to put

1776-604: The HALCA mission. Additional success was achieved with solar observation and research of the magnetosphere , among other areas. NASDA, which was founded on 1 October 1969, had developed rockets , satellites, and also built the Japanese Experiment Module . The old NASDA headquarters were located at the current site of the Tanegashima Space Center , on Tanegashima Island , 115 kilometers south of Kyūshū . NASDA

1850-632: The Hiten lunar mission in 1990. The first Japanese interplanetary mission was the Mars Orbiter Nozomi (PLANET-B), which was launched in 1998. It passed Mars in 2003, but failed to reach Mars orbit due to maneuvering systems failures earlier in the mission. Currently interplanetary missions remain at the ISAS group under the JAXA umbrella. However, for FY 2008 JAXA is planning to set up an independent working group within

1924-517: The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC). Before the merger, ISAS was responsible for space and planetary research, while NAL was focused on aviation research. ISAS had been most successful in its space program in the field of X-ray astronomy during the 1980s and 1990s. Another successful area for Japan has been Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) with

1998-524: The inner Solar System , and emphasis has been put on magnetospheric and atmospheric research. The Mars explorer Nozomi (PLANET-B), which ISAS launched prior to the merger of the three aerospace institutes, became one of the earliest difficulties the newly formed JAXA faced. Nozomi ultimately passed 1,000 km from the surface of Mars. On 20 May 2010, the Venus Climate Orbiter Akatsuki (PLANET-C) and IKAROS solar sail demonstrator

2072-510: The 13 projects, 7 were demonstrated on board RAPIS-1. MicroDragon is a microsatellite proposal submitted by Takashi Maeno of Keio University . It was developed by the VNSC (Vietnam National Satellite Center). Rapid International Scientific Experiment Satellite (RISESAT), previously called Hodoyoshi 2, was a microsatellite developed by Tohoku University . It was equipped with scientific instruments that were selected on an international scale. RISESAT

2146-534: The 15-cm IRTS telescope which was part of the SFU multipurpose satellite in 1995. ISAS also gave ground support for the ESA Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) infrared mission. JAXA's first infrared astronomy satellite was the Akari spacecraft, with the pre-launch designation ASTRO-F . This satellite was launched on 21 February 2006. Its mission is infrared astronomy with a 68 cm telescope. This

2220-491: The CubeSat maneuvering capabilities, a necessity for a future lunar mission, as the Moon's irregular gravity field requires orbiters to perform orbit maintenance to extend its mission lifetime. It had a design lifetime of 12 months in low Earth orbit. The satellite decayed from orbit on 24 March 2023. NEXUS, short for NExt generation X Unique Satellite is a 1U CubeSat developed by Nihon University . An amateur radio satellite , it

2294-563: The ETS-VI and COMETS missions. In February 2018, JAXA announced a research collaboration with Sony to test a laser communication system from the Kibo module in late 2018. Testing of communication technologies remains to be one of JAXA's key duties in cooperation with NICT . Lunar orbit#Perturbation effects and low orbits Lunar orbit insertion ( LOI ) is an orbit insertion maneuver used to achieve lunar orbit. Low lunar orbit ( LLO )

Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration Program - Misplaced Pages Continue

2368-584: The H-II, rather than an improved development like the H-IIA and H-IIB, which were based on the H-II. The design goal of the H3 is to increase launch capability at a lower cost than the H-IIA and H-IIB. To achieve this, an expander bleed cycle was used for the first time in the world for the first stage of the engine. Japan's first missions beyond Earth orbit were the 1985 Halley's comet observation spacecraft Sakigake (MS-T5) and Suisei (PLANET-A). To prepare for future missions, ISAS tested Earth swing by orbits with

2442-538: The ISAS, and to dramatically improve its launch capability over previous licensed models. To achieve these two goals, a staged combustion cycle was adopted for the first stage engine, the LE-7 . The combination of the liquid hydrogen two-stage combustion cycle first stage engine and solid rocket boosters was carried over to its successor, the H-IIA and H-IIB and became the basic configuration of Japan's liquid fuel launch vehicles for 30 years, from 1994 to 2024. In 2003, JAXA

2516-471: The LM made its return rendezvous with the CSM. But the effect was overestimated by a factor of two; at rendezvous, the orbit was calculated to be 63.2 nautical miles (117.0 km; 72.7 mi) by 56.8 nautical miles (105.2 km; 65.4 mi). Study of the mascons' effect on lunar spacecraft led to the discovery in 2001 of frozen orbits occurring at four orbital inclinations : 27°, 50°, 76°, and 86°, in which

2590-459: The Moon was Lunar Orbiter 1 on August 14, 1966. The first orbit was an elliptical orbit , with an apolune of 1,008 nautical miles (1,867 km; 1,160 mi) and a perilune of 102.1 nautical miles (189.1 km; 117.5 mi). Then the orbit was circularized at around 170 nautical miles (310 km; 200 mi) to obtain suitable imagery. Five such spacecraft were launched over a period of thirteen months, all of which successfully mapped

2664-460: The Moon, primarily for the purpose of finding suitable Apollo program landing sites. The Apollo program 's Command/Service Module (CSM) remained in a lunar parking orbit while the Lunar Module (LM) landed. The combined CSM/LM would first enter an elliptical orbit, nominally 170 nautical miles (310 km; 200 mi) by 60 nautical miles (110 km; 69 mi), which was then changed to

2738-753: The Prime Minister's Cabinet Office through a new Space Strategy Office. JAXA uses the H-IIA (H "two" A) rocket from the former NASDA body as a medium-lift launch vehicle . JAXA has also developed a new medium-lift vehicle H3 . For smaller launch needs, JAXA uses the Epsilon rocket. For experiments in the upper atmosphere JAXA uses the SS-520 , S-520 , and S-310 sounding rockets . Historical, nowadays retired, JAXA orbital rockets are as follows: Mu rocket family ( M-V ) and H-IIB . Japan launched its first satellite, Ohsumi , in 1970, using ISAS' L-4S rocket. Prior to

2812-621: The conception phase, ISAS scientists will see their instruments reaching Jupiter on the ESA-led JUICE (Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer) mission. JUICE is a reformulation of the ESA Ganymede orbiter from the Laplace project. JAXA's contribution includes providing components of the RPWI (Radio & Plasma Wave Investigation), PEP (Particle Environment Package), GALA (GAnymede Laser Altimeter) instruments. JAXA

2886-584: The deployment of large structures from a small, folded state. After being launched to an altitude of 500 km (310 mi), OrigamiSat-1 was designed to descend down to 400 km (250 mi), where it would deploy a 1m membrane. The satellite decayed from orbit on 30 April 2022. Aoba VELOX-IV was a 2U CubeSat equipped with a low-light camera. It was jointly developed by Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) of Singapore . The pulsed plasma thrusters developed by NTU gave

2960-411: The first spacecraft to the vicinity of the Moon (or any extraterrestrial object), the robotic vehicle Luna 1 , on January 4, 1959. It passed within 6,000 kilometres (3,200 nmi; 3,700 mi) of the Moon's surface, but did not achieve lunar orbit. Luna 3 , launched on October 4, 1959, was the first robotic spacecraft to complete a circumlunar free return trajectory , still not a lunar orbit, but

3034-518: The flight (KOYOH, PETREL, and STARS-X) will instead be launched on another rocket, which will be arranged by IA. For IA, the contract with iQPS marked its first contract to launch a commercial satellite. IA was previously selected by JAXA as the launch service provider for Epsilon S , an upgraded version of Epsilon. IA described its contract with iQPS as a forerunner to commercial launches on Epsilon S. The Epsilon rocket carrying Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-3's RAISE-3 and five CubeSats

Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration Program - Misplaced Pages Continue

3108-433: The force of gravity by one-half percent. The Apollo 11 first manned landing mission employed the first attempt to correct for the perturbation effect (the frozen orbits were not known at that time). The parking orbit was "circularized" at 66 nautical miles (122 km; 76 mi) by 54 nautical miles (100 km; 62 mi), which was expected to become the nominal circular 60 nautical miles (110 km; 69 mi) when

3182-458: The former ISAS's Mu rockets. Instead a H-2A from Tanegashima could launch it. As H-2A is more powerful, SOLAR-C could either be heavier or be stationed at L 1 ( Lagrange point 1). In 1997, Japan launched the HALCA (MUSES-B) mission, the world's first spacecraft dedicated to conduct space VLBI observations of pulsars, among others. To do so, ISAS set up a ground network around the world through international cooperation. The observation part of

3256-434: The lag time between these interplanetary events and mission planning time, opportunities to gain new knowledge about the cosmos might be lost. To prevent this, JAXA began commencing smaller and faster missions from 2010 onward. In 2012, new legislation extended JAXA's remit from peaceful purposes only to include some military space development, such as missile early warning systems. Political control of JAXA passed from MEXT to

3330-498: The lander will wake up after a few days when sunlight should hit the solar panels. Two rovers, LEV 1 and 2, deployed during hovering just before final landing are working as expected with LEV-1 communicating independently to the ground stations. LEV-1 conducted seven hops over 107 minutes on the lunar surface. Images taken by LEV-2 show that it landed in the wrong attitude with loss of an engine nozzle during descent and even possible sustained damage to lander's Earth bound antenna which

3404-461: The lunar surface on 10 June 2009 at 18:25 UTC. JAXA launched its first lunar surface mission SLIM (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) in 2023. It successfully soft landed on 19 January 2024 at 15:20 UTC, making Japan the 5th country to do so. The main goal of SLIM was to improve the accuracy of spacecraft landing on the Moon and to land a spacecraft within 100 meters of its target, which no spacecraft had achieved before. SLIM landed 55 meters from

3478-449: The lunar surface. For lunar orbits with altitudes in the 500 to 20,000 km (300 to 12,000 mi) range, the gravity of Earth leads to orbit perturbations . At altitudes higher than that perturbed two-body astrodynamics models are insufficient and three-body models are required. Although the Moon's Hill sphere extends to a radius of 60,000 km (37,000 mi), the gravity of Earth intervenes enough to make lunar orbits unstable at

3552-412: The manufacturer of Epsilon rocket announced that it signed a contract with iQPS for the launch of two satellites. IA said that the two satellites will be launched on the sixth launch of Epsilon. In a subsequent press release JAXA announced that the two iQPS satellites will be launched together with Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-3, and that the three microsatellites originally manifested for

3626-473: The merger, ISAS used small Mu rocket family of solid-fueled launch vehicles, while NASDA developed larger liquid-fueled launchers. In the beginning, NASDA used licensed American models. The first model of liquid-fueled launch vehicle developed domestically in Japan was the H-II , introduced in 1994. NASDA developed the H-II with two goals in mind: to be able to launch satellites using only its own technology, such as

3700-483: The mission lasted until 2003 and the satellite was retired at the end of 2005. In FY 2006, Japan funded the ASTRO-G as the succeeding mission. ASTRO-G was canceled in 2011. One of the primary duties of the former NASDA body was the testing of new space technologies, mostly in the field of communication. The first test satellite was ETS-I, launched in 1975. However, during the 1990s, NASDA was afflicted by problems surrounding

3774-567: The mission was to collect samples from a small near-Earth asteroid named 25143 Itokawa . The craft rendezvoused with the asteroid in September 2005. It was confirmed that the spacecraft successfully landed on the asteroid in November 2005, after some initial confusion regarding the incoming data. Hayabusa returned to Earth with samples from the asteroid on 13 June 2010. Hayabusa was the world's first spacecraft to return asteroid samples to Earth and

SECTION 50

#1732876845101

3848-522: The mission were tested in space for a year, and the operational data gained were given to the developers. The Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-1 marked the first multi-satellite launch by Epsilon launch vehicle. RAPIS-1 (RAPid Innovative payload demonstration Satellite 1) is a satellite within Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-1 that demonstrated selected projects as either parts or components. Of

3922-598: The night on the lunar surface while maintaining communication capabilities. At that time it was solar noon on the Moon so the temperature of the communications equipment was extremely high, so communication was terminated after only a short period of time. JAXA is now preparing for resumed operations, once the temperature has fallen sufficiently. The feat of surviving lunar night without a Radioisotope heater unit had only been achieved by some landers in Surveyor Program . Japan's planetary missions have so far been limited to

3996-569: The offer. The call for proposals for Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-4 was released by JAXA on 17 June 2022, and in September 2022 three CubeSats , KOSEN-3, OrigamiSat-2 and Mono-Nikko were selected. JAXA The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency ( JAXA ) ( 国立研究開発法人宇宙航空研究開発機構 , Kokuritsu-kenkyū-kaihatsu-hōjin Uchū Kōkū Kenkyū Kaihatsu Kikō , lit.   ' National Research and Development Agency Aerospace Research and Development Organisation ' )

4070-423: The orbits of some Lunar Orbiters led to the discovery of mass concentrations (dubbed mascons ) beneath the lunar surface caused by large impacting bodies at some remote time in the past. These anomalies are large enough to cause a lunar orbit to change significantly over the course of several days. They can cause a plumb bob to hang about a third of a degree off vertical, pointing toward the mascon, and increase

4144-405: The organization. New head for this group will be Hayabusa project manager Kawaguchi. Active Missions: PLANET-C , IKAROS , Hayabusa2 , BepiColombo , SLIM Under Development: MMX , DESTINY Retired: PLANET-B , SELENE , MUSES-C , LEV-1, LEV-2 Cancelled: LUNAR-A On 9 May 2003, Hayabusa (meaning Peregrine falcon ), was launched from an M-V rocket. The goal of

4218-586: The same year. There are nine satellites launching on this mission: the RAISE-2 smallsat, four microsatellites and four CubeSats. The microsatellites HIBARI , Z-Sat and DRUMS are primarily for engineering tests. TeikyoSat-4, which was additionally selected in 2020, will conduct life science studies. The four CubeSats are ASTERISC , ARICA, NanoDragon , and KOSEN-1 . The Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration 2 mission launched on 9 November 2021. Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-3's call for proposals

4292-505: The solar sail did not deploy fully. ISAS tested a solar sail again as a sub payload of the SOLAR-B launch at 23 September 2006, but contact with the probe was lost. The IKAROS solar sail was launched in May 2010 and successfully demonstrated solar sail technology in July. This made IKAROS the world's first spacecraft to successfully demonstrate solar sail technology in interplanetary space. The goal

4366-447: The target landing site, and JAXA announced that it was the world's first successful "pinpoint landing. Although it landed successfully, it landed with the solar panels oriented westwards, facing away from the Sun at the start of lunar day , thereby failing to generate enough power. The lander operated on internal battery power, which was fully drained that day. The mission's operators hope that

4440-483: The time. In November 2003, JAXA's first launch after its inauguration, H-IIA No. 6, failed, but all other H-IIA launches were successful, and as of February 2024, the H-IIA had successfully launched 47 of its 48 launches. JAXA plans to end H-IIA operations with H-IIA Flight No. 50 and retire it by March 2025. JAXA operated the H-IIB , an upgraded version of the H-IIA, from September 2009 to May 2020 and successfully launched

4514-489: The world's first spacecraft to make a round trip to a celestial body farther from Earth than the Moon. Hayabusa2 was launched in 2014 and returned samples from asteroid 162173 Ryugu to Earth in 2020. After Hiten in 1990, JAXA planned a lunar penetrator mission called LUNAR-A but after delays due to technical problems, the project was terminated in January 2007. The seismometer penetrator design for LUNAR-A may be reused in

SECTION 60

#1732876845101

4588-541: The year 2000 the launch of ISAS's X-ray observation satellite, ASTRO-E failed (as it failed at launch it never received a proper name). Then on 10 July 2005, JAXA was finally able to launch a new X-ray astronomy mission named Suzaku (ASTRO-EII). This launch was important for JAXA, because in the five years since the launch failure of the original ASTRO-E satellite, Japan was without an x-ray telescope . Three instruments were included in this satellite: an X-ray spectrometer (XRS), an X-ray imaging spectrometer (XIS), and

4662-401: Was a microsatellite for demonstrating the creation of artificial shooting stars . Built and operated by ALE Co., Ltd. , it was the company's first satellite. ALE-1 was equipped with a DOM2500 deorbit mechanism manufactured by Nakashimada Engineering Works, Ltd. The DOM2500 was a membrane sail 2.5 m × 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in × 8 ft 2 in) large when deployed, and

4736-513: Was announced in January 2020, and in May 2020 JAXA announced the selection of 14 themes. On 22 January 2021, Shizuoka University 's STARS-X microsatellite was additionally selected, bringing the total number of themes to 15. Among the 15 themes seven were on board the RAISE-3 smallsat, three are microsatellites and five were CubeSats. Of the three microsatellites, KOYOH will conduct astronomical observation of transient sources, PETREL will demonstrate

4810-530: Was formed by merging Japan's three space agencies to streamline Japan's space program, and JAXA took over operations of the H-IIA liquid-fueled launch vehicle, the M-V solid-fuel launch vehicle, and several observation rockets from each agency. The H-IIA is a launch vehicle that improved reliability while reducing costs by making significant improvements to the H-II, and the M-V was the world's largest solid-fuel launch vehicle at

4884-521: Was launched as the successor to Suzaku, which completed its mission a year before. Japan's solar astronomy started in the early 1980s with the launch of the Hinotori (ASTRO-A) X-ray mission. The Hinode (SOLAR-B) spacecraft, the follow-on to the joint Japan/US/UK Yohkoh (SOLAR-A) spacecraft, was launched on 23 September 2006 by JAXA. A SOLAR-C can be expected sometime after 2020. However no details are worked out yet other than it will not be launched with

4958-424: Was launched by a H-2A launch vehicle. On 7 December 2010, Akatsuki was unable to complete its Venus orbit insertion maneuver. Akatsuki finally entered Venus orbit on 7 December 2015, making it the first Japanese spacecraft to orbit another planet, sixteen years after the originally planned orbital insertion of Nozomi. One of Akatsuki's main goal is to uncover the mechanism behind Venus atmosphere's super-rotation ,

5032-551: Was launched on 12 October 2022. The launch resulted in failure and all the payloads and the launch vehicle were destroyed. KOYOH was launched successfully aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on 1 December 2023. Following the launch failure of the Epsilon rocket carrying RAISE-3 and the CubeSats selected for Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-3, each of the projects were given a re-flight opportunity in subsequent missions, except NEC Space Technologies, Ltd. 's SDRX, which declined

5106-519: Was mostly active in the field of communication satellite technology. However, since the satellite market of Japan is completely open, the first time a Japanese company won a contract for a civilian communication satellite was in 2005. Another prime focus of the NASDA body is Earth climate observation. NASDA also trained the Japanese astronauts who flew with the US Space Shuttles . The Basic Space Law

5180-801: Was passed in 2008, and the jurisdictional authority of JAXA moved from MEXT to the Strategic Headquarters for Space Development (SHSD) in the Cabinet , led by the Prime Minister . In 2016, the National Space Policy Secretariat (NSPS) was set up by the Cabinet. JAXA was awarded the Space Foundation 's John L. "Jack" Swigert Jr., Award for Space Exploration in 2008. Planning interplanetary research missions can take many years. Due to

5254-402: Was put into sleep mode due to the approaching harsh lunar night where temperatures reach −120 °C (−184 °F). SLIM was expected to operate only for one lunar daylight period, which lasts for 14 Earth days, and the on-board electronics were not designed to withstand the nighttime temperatures on the Moon. On 25 February 2024, JAXA sent wake-up calls and found SLIM had successfully survived

5328-487: Was selected for the Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration Program to demonstrate highly precise attitude control and high resolution multispectral observation technology. RISESAT's high resolution multispectral camera was capable of measuring the growth rate and health of crops from space. RISESAT's remote sensing instrument, High Precision Telescope (HPT) utilizes a liquid crystal tunable filter . RISESAT decayed from orbit on 14 March 2023. ALE-1, also known as ALEe,

5402-549: Was the 2019 Queqiao relay satellite . It was placed around Earth-Moon L2 at roughly 65,000 km (40,000 mi). Since 2022 ( CAPSTONE ) near-rectilinear halo orbits , using as well a Lagrange point, have been used and are planned to be employed by the Lunar Gateway . There are three main ways to get to lunar orbit from Earth: direct transfer, low thrust transfer and low-energy transfer . These take 3–4 days, months or 2.5–4 months respectively. The Soviet Union sent

5476-493: Was used by ALE-1 to lower its altitude to less than 400 km (250 mi), the optimal altitude to conduct its main mission. However, ALE-1 failed to deploy its payload and remains in orbit. The DOM2500 reentered the atmosphere on 3 August 2022, and ALE-1 is expected to re-enter the atmosphere in October 2023. OrigamiSat-1 (COSPAR 2019-003B, SATCAT 43933) was a 3U CubeSat developed by Tokyo Institute of Technology to demonstrate

#100899