Japan – Page 4 – Spaceflight Now

Rubins and Noguchi assemble solar array support fixtures outside space station

March 5, 2021 William Harwood

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Soichi Noguchi, a Japanese astronaut who last walked in space more than 15 years ago, ventured outside the International Space Station Friday and completed assembly of two solar array support fixtures, part of a $100 million power system upgrade.

Crew Dragon breaks record for longest flight by human-rated U.S. spacecraft

February 9, 2021 Stephen Clark

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft that carried four astronauts to the International Space Station in November broke the record Sunday for the longest spaceflight by a U.S. crew vehicle, surpassing the 84-day mark set by an Apollo capsule on the final flight to the Skylab space station in 1974.

U.S. companies, led by SpaceX, launched more than any other country in 2020

January 5, 2021 Stephen Clark

Leading all other nations, U.S. launch providers flew 44 missions in 2020 that aimed to place payloads in Earth orbit or deep space, with 40 successes. China followed with 35 successful orbital missions in 39 launch attempts.

Rocket Lab closes out year with launch of Synspective’s first radar satellite

December 15, 2020 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab’s seventh and final launch of the year delivered a small radar observation satellite into orbit for Synspective, a Japanese startup planning a fleet of 30 or more Earth-imaging spacecraft providing day-and-night imagery of cities around the world.

Scientists thrilled with asteroid treasure returned by Japanese spacecraft

December 15, 2020 Stephen Clark

Japanese space agency officials said Tuesday they found a “large number” of pitch black rock and dust particles after opening a capsule returned to Earth earlier this month by the Hayabusa 2 mission, giving eager scientists their first significant specimens ever brought back from an asteroid.

Live coverage: Rocket Lab launches Japanese radar satellite

December 15, 2020 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab launched a radar imaging satellite Tuesday for the Japanese company Synspective. The small Earth observation payload lifted off from New Zealand at 5:09 a.m. EST (1009 GMT) aboard an Electron rocket. Rocket Lab did not attempt to recover the Electron’s first stage on this mission.

Japanese capsule carrying asteroid rocks lands in Australia after six-year mission

December 5, 2020 Stephen Clark

An armored re-entry capsule carrying pristine specimens from an asteroid streaked into Earth’s atmosphere and parachuted to a landing in the Australian outback Saturday, bringing home extraterrestrial rocks that could hold clues to the origin of life on Earth.

Live coverage: Hayabusa 2 asteroid sample return capsule lands in Australia

December 5, 2020 Stephen Clark

Japan’s Hayabusa 2 mission returned to Earth Saturday after a six-year mission to collect samples from asteroid Ryugu. The mission’s sample return capsule landed in in the Australian outback around shortly before 1 p.m. EST (1800 GMT) Saturday.

Japanese asteroid sampling mission on course for return to Earth

December 5, 2020 Stephen Clark

Six years after departing Earth, Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft released a spinning capsule Saturday containing pristine asteroid material for a scorching re-entry and landing in the remote Australian outback, where teams are standing by to retrieve the specimens for analysis.

Japanese data relay satellite launches on H-2A rocket

November 29, 2020 Stephen Clark

A Japanese satellite designed to relay data and imagery from civilian and military Earth observation spacecraft launched Sunday aboard an H-2A rocket.