by David Todd | Jul 29, 2015 | China, ESA, exploration, History, JAXA, NASA, Russia
High Summer is the time of year when the Seradata space team does its annual analysis of the relative chances of each nation “winning the space race”. In this we act as a notional bookmaker offering notional odds that reflect each nation’s relative chances...
by David Todd | Jul 10, 2015 | JAXA, Launches, Seradata News
While Japan’s next launch vehicle might have had an official title of Next Generation Launch Vehicle and has its development fully funded to the tune of US$1.9 billion, JAXA’s rocket successor to the current H2A/H2B still needed a catchier name. And...
by David Todd | Jun 22, 2015 | JAXA, NASA, Satellites, Science
The joint NASA/JAXA Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) which as retired on 15 April 2015, re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere in the early morning of 16 June 2015 and safely burned up. The mission, which was launched in November 1997 was originally only...
by David Todd | May 13, 2015 | exploration, JAXA, Satellites, Science
The attempt of the Japanese small satellite Procyon to visit an asteroid has been called off. Following the failure of the ion engine in March 2015, the planned orbital correction for an Earth slingshot gravity assist to send the craft towards asteroid 2000 DP 107...
by David Todd | Mar 12, 2015 | commercial launch services, JAXA, Satellites, Seradata News
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has received a launch order from the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST), Dubai for the KhalifaSat observation satellite on an H2A. The satellite will fly with GOSAT 2 on an H2A launch in 2017....
by David Todd | Feb 26, 2015 | ESA, International Space Station, JAXA, Russia
In a similar way to arranging a semi-amicable divorce, Russia has formally given notice to its spacefaring partner nations, NASA, ESA and JAXA, that it will remain part of the International Space Station (ISS) until 2024, the year that NASA itself wants to end the...
