Japanese H-IIA Launches
Image credit: NASDA
A Japanese H-2A rocket successfully launched from Tanegashima Space Center today, carrying two experimental satellites. It launched the Unmanned Space Experiment Recovery System (USERS) spacecraft and the Data Relay Test Satellite (DRTS). This is the third successful launch of the H-2A; an upgrade over the H-2 rocket program which suffered a string of launch failures in the 1990s.
The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) launched the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite-II (ADEOS-II) by H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 4 (H-IIA F4) at 10:31 a.m. on December 14, 2002 (Japan Standard Time) from the Tanegashima Space Center. The initial azimuth of H-IIA F4 was 122 degrees. H-IIA F4 flight went normally, and it was confirmed that ADEOS-II was successfully separated in 16 minutes and 31 seconds after liftoff.
Original Source: NASDA News Release
Recent Posts
Astronomers Will Get Gravitational Wave Alerts Within 30 Seconds
Any event in the cosmos generates gravitational waves, the bigger the event, the more disturbance.…
Next Generation Ion Engines Will Be Extremely Powerful
During the Space Race, scientists in both the United States and the Soviet Union investigated…
Neutron Stars Could be Capturing Primordial Black Holes
The Milky Way has a missing pulsar problem in its core. Astronomers have tried to…
Japan’s Lunar Lander Survives its Third Lunar Night
Space travel and exploration was never going to be easy. Failures are sadly all too…
Black Holes Can Halt Star Formation in Massive Galaxies
It’s difficult to actually visualise a universe that is changing. Things tend to happen at…
Mapping the Milky Way’s Magnetic Field in 3D
We are all very familiar with the concept of the Earth’s magnetic field. It turns…