by David Todd | Dec 4, 2014 | exploration, JAXA, Satellites, Science, Seradata News
At 0422 GMT on 3 December 2014, a Japanese H2A launch vehicle successfully lifted off from the Tanegashima launch site in Japan carrying the Hayabusa-2 spacecraft which is planned to rendezvous with an asteroid (1999 JU3) in 2018. As part of the mission, Hayabusa-2...
by David Todd | Dec 1, 2014 | International Space Station, JAXA, Satellites, Seradata News, Technology
On 28 November 2014, the Japanese JEM-RMS robot arm grabbed the 57kg SpinSat (Special Purpose Inexpensive Satellite) and its Cyclops deployer from the Kibo airlock and moved it outside ready for release. The Cyclops then ejected SpinSat into orbit at 1700 GMT that...
by David Todd | Oct 21, 2014 | Commercial human spaceflight, ESA, JAXA, NASA
Commercial manned spaceflight was especially emphasised at IAC 2014, and it even got its own plenary session. Alexander Derechin, of RSC Energia, noted in his paper IAC 2014 B3.2.1 that as prices are set to fall, the human commercial spaceflight market would...
by David Todd | Oct 21, 2014 | ESA, History, India, JAXA, NASA, Seradata News
While the heads of several space agencies delivered the usual platitudes about international cooperation at the IAC 2014, the “missing elephants in the room”, were China and Russia. So was this an indication that international space cooperation would, in future, be...
by David Todd | Oct 16, 2014 | commercial launch services, JAXA, Satellites, Science, Seradata News
The Japanese meteorological satellite, Himawari 8, as successfully launched by a H-IIA (H-2A202) launch vehicle from the Tanegashima launch site in Japan at 0516 GMT on 7 October.2014. The spacecraft which was built for JAXA by the Mitsubishi Electric Corp (MELCO),...
by David Todd | Sep 8, 2014 | International Space Station, JAXA, Seradata News
Having flown to the International Space Station (ISS) with the Cygnus Orb 2 (Janice Voss) unmanned freigther spacecraft which was launched in July, the plan to deploy all 28 PlanetLabs’ FLOCK 1B Earth observation cubesats from ISS has had to be curtailed. On 22...
