IHI Aerospace – Spaceflight Now

U.S. cargo craft tests reboost capability at International Space Station

July 11, 2018

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, and possibly eventually deorbit, the massive research outpost.

Souped-up sounding rocket lifts off from Japan with tiny satellite

February 2, 2018

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.

Japanese radar satellite launched aboard third Epsilon booster

January 17, 2018

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.

Experimental flight of Japanese sounding rocket falls short of orbit

January 16, 2017

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.

Launch of experimental Japanese rocket scrubbed

January 10, 2017

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.

Research platform launched to brave Van Allen radiation belts

December 20, 2016

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 to life on the ground.

Live coverage: Japan’s enhanced Epsilon booster blasts off

December 20, 2016

A Japanese Epsilon rocket launched Tuesday from the Uchinoura Space Center, a shoreline spaceport on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu, with a space weather research probe to study phenomena inside the turbulent Van Allen radiation belts. Liftoff of the 85-foot-tall rocket occurred at 1100 GMT (6 a.m. EST).

Timeline of events during Epsilon rocket’s launch with the ERG mission

December 19, 2016

An Epsilon rocket is set to send a Japanese space weather research probe into an orbit stretching more than 20,000 miles above Earth to investigate how the Van Allen radiation belts shrink and swell with variable solar activity.

Japan prepares launch of satellite to probe Earth’s radiation belts

December 19, 2016

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.