Watch the Launch

Additional Media

Epsilon-3 Launch and Flight in Computer Graphics

Japan has gone a long way honing its solid rocket booster technologies. The history goes back decades to 1955, when the very first pencil rocket successfully launched. JAXA’s Epsilon launch vehicle em...

イプシロンロケット3号機 高性能小型レーダ衛星(ASNARO-2) 打ち上げ中継

The live launch report for the third Epsilon Launch Vehicle with the NEC small radar satellite "ASNARO-2" Launch Date: Jan. 18, 2018 Launch Time: 6:06:11 a.m. (Japan Standard Time, JST) http://glo...

ASNARO-2

Overview

Destination: Sun-Synchronous Orbit
Mission: Earth Science

Sun-Synchronous Orbit Mu Center Uchinoura Space Center, Japan

ASNARO-2 (Advanced Satellite with New system ARchitecture for Observation) is an advanced small X-band radar satellite for Earth observation for Japan. Satellite weighs about 495 kg and is to operate in sun-synchronous orbit.

Epsilon

Family:
Configuration:

The Epsilon rocket is a Japanese solid-fuel rocket designed to launch scientific satellites. It is a follow-on project to the larger and more expensive M-V rocket which was retired in 2006. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) began developing the Epsilon in 2007. It is capable of placing a 590 kg payload into Sun-synchronous orbit.

Specifications
  • Minimum Stage
    3
  • Max Stage
    4
  • Length
    24.4 m
  • Diameter
    2.5 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    2.5 m
  • Launch Mass
    91.0 T
  • Thrust
    2271.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Epsilon
  • Family
  • Variant
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Epsilon
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $39000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity
    590.0 kg

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

(JAXA)

Administrator: Hiroshi Yamakawa Founded: 2003 Successes: 33 Failures: 4 Pending: 2

Agency Type:

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is Japan's national aero-space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and the launch of satellites into orbit, and is involved in many more advanced missions, such as asteroid exploration and possible manned exploration of the Moon. JAXA launch their Epsilon vehicle from the Uchinoura Space Center and their H-II vehicles from the Tanegashima Space Center.

INFO WIKI

Uchinoura Space Center, Japan

Mu Center


Long March 3B/E
Success
2 days, 4 hours ago
Fengyun-4C
Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

China's geostationary meteorological satellite program FY-4 (Feng Yun 4) is the second generation of chinese geostationary meteorological satellites.


Long March 8A
Success
2 days, 20 hours ago
SatNet LEO Group 17
Commercial LC-1 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

A batch of 9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group.…


Soyuz 2.1a
Success
3 days, 6 hours ago
Obzor-R No.1
43/4 (43R) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Note: Assignment of payloads to this launch is uncertain. The Russian Obzor-R satellite is a planned X-band radar earth observation satellite desi…


LVM-3 (GSLV Mk III)
Success
4 days, 16 hours ago
BlueBird Block 2 #1
Satish Dhawan Space Centre Second Launch Pad - Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India

AST SpaceMobile’s Block 2 BlueBird satellites are designed to deliver up to 10 times the bandwidth capacity of the BlueBird Block 1 satellites, requi…


Long March 12A
Success
5 days, 18 hours ago
Demo Flight
Long March 12A Pad - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

First test launch of CASC/SAST’s Long March 12A rocket, with a dummy payload. The rocket’s 1st stage attempted to land on a landing pad about 300 km …


HANBIT-Nano
Failure
5 days, 19 hours ago
Spaceward
HANBIT Pad - Alcântara Space Center, Federative Republic of Brazil

Maiden orbital launch attempt for the South Korean start-up Innospace and its HANBIT-Nano small launch vehicle. Onboard this flight are five small sa…


H3-22
Failure
6 days, 18 hours ago
Michibiki 5 (QZS-5)
Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-2 - Tanegashima Space Center, Japan

QZSS (Quasi Zenith Satellite System) is a Japanese satellite navigation system operating from inclined, elliptical geosynchronous orbits to achieve o…


Electron
Success
1 week ago
The Wisdom God Guides (iQPS Launch 6)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Synthetic aperture radar Earth observation satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company iQPS.


New Shepard
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
NS-37
West Texas Suborbital Launch Site/ Corn Ranch - Corn Ranch, Van Horn, TX, USA

NS-37 is the 16th crewed flight for the New Shepard program and the 37th in the New Shepard program's history.


Long March 5
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
TJSW-23
101 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

Chinese classified satellite claimed to be for communication technology test purposes. Actual mission not known.