JAXA – Page 12 – Spaceflight Now

Video and photos: Soyuz crew capsule lands in Kazakhstan

June 5, 2018 Stephen Clark

The Soyuz MS-07 spacecraft carrying U.S., Russian and Japanese space fliers returned to Earth on Sunday with a parachute-assisted, rocket-cushioned touchdown on the Kazakh steppe after 168 days in orbit.

Space station crew closes out 168-day mission

June 3, 2018 William Harwood

A Russian cosmonaut, a NASA flight engineer and a Japanese physician-astronaut strapped into their Soyuz ferry ship early Sunday, undocked from the International Space Station and plunged back to Earth, landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan to close out a 168-day mission.

Live coverage: Soyuz capsule brings home three-man crew

June 3, 2018 Stephen Clark

A three-man crew departed the International Space Station on Sunday, concluding more than five months aboard the orbiting research complex and heading for landing in Kazakhstan. Undocking of the Soyuz MS-07 spacecraft occurred at 0916 GMT (5:16 a.m. EDT), and the trio landed on the Kazakh steppe at 1239 GMT (8:39 a.m. EDT).

One station crew heads home, another preps for launch

June 2, 2018 William Harwood

With three space station fliers heading home Sunday after a 168-day mission, three fresh crew members made final preparations for launch three days later to boost the lab’s crew back to six in a rapid-fire rotation that will prevent any major interruption of research activity.

Reconnaissance satellite launched by Japanese H-2A rocket

February 27, 2018 Stephen Clark

A Japanese H-2A rocket launched Tuesday with a clandestine government-owned satellite to collect sharp-eyed views of North Korea’s missile developments and other global hotspots.

Japanese spy satellite launch delayed by poor weather forecast

February 24, 2018 Stephen Clark

A bad weather forecast has prompted Japanese space officials to delay the launch of an H-2A rocket with a high-resolution government-owned reconnaissance satellite by at least 48 hours until Monday night, U.S. time.

Spacewalking astronauts complete robot arm work

February 16, 2018 William Harwood

Astronaut Mark Vande Hei and Japanese crewmate Norishige Kanai floated outside the International Space Station Friday, repositioned two robot arm grapple mechanisms following repair work last month and carried out a variety of “get-ahead” tasks before calling it a day.

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

February 2, 2018 Stephen Clark

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.

Asteroid missions on track to reach their destinations in 2018

January 18, 2018 Stephen Clark

Pioneering spacecraft from NASA and the Japanese space agency promise to reveal two unexplored asteroids later this year, officials said Wednesday, beginning surveys that will culminate in daring descents to capture samples for return to Earth, where eager scientists await a hands-on look at the specimens.

Japanese radar satellite launched aboard third Epsilon booster

January 17, 2018 Stephen Clark

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.