Japan

Live coverage: Ariane 5 launches from French Guiana

December 21, 2016 Spaceflight Now

An Ariane 5 rocket has blasted off from a tropical launch pad in French Guiana on nearly 3 million pounds of thrust, hoisting two U.S.-built communications satellites to orbit for commercial owners in Brazil and Japan.

Photos: Ariane 5’s journey to the launch pad

December 20, 2016 Stephen Clark

Topped with Brazilian and Japanese television broadcasting satellites, an Ariane 5 rocket rolled out to its launch pad in French Guiana on Tuesday, a day before its scheduled blastoff on the way to geostationary transfer orbit.

Research platform launched to brave Van Allen radiation belts

December 20, 2016 Stephen Clark

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 Stephen Clark

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).

Last Ariane 5 flight of the year cleared for launch

December 19, 2016 Stephen Clark

Arianespace officials have approved the rollout and launch of the final Ariane 5 flight of the year, set to blast off Wednesday from French Guiana to haul Brazilian and Japanese communications stations toward their orbital perches more than 22,000 miles above the equator.

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

December 19, 2016 Stephen Clark

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 Stephen Clark

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.

Live coverage: Ariane 5 launches from French Guiana

Photos: Ariane 5’s journey to the launch pad

Research platform launched to brave Van Allen radiation belts

Live coverage: Japan’s enhanced Epsilon booster blasts off

Last Ariane 5 flight of the year cleared for launch

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

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

Japanese HTV makes battery delivery to International Space Station

Japan’s HTV supply ship blasts off for space station

Timeline of the H-2B rocket’s launch of the Kounotori 6 supply ship