Epsilon

Active

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

Sept. 14, 2013

Description

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

Government
Administrator: Hiroshi Yamakawa
JAXA 2003

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.

Epsilon | RAISE-3 & others

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency | Japan
Uchinoura Space Center, Japan
Oct. 12, 2022, 12:50 a.m.
Status: Launch Failure
Mission:

RAISE-3 (RApid Innovative payload demonstration Satellite-3) was a satellite for on-orbit demonstrations of 7 demonstration components and equipment selected by public solicitation. The satellite was to be operated in response to requests from the demonstration theme proposers, and will provide experimental data of the demonstration devices and environmental data during the experiments. The launch is also carrying QPS-SAR 3 & 4 radar Earth observation satellites for iQPS, and 5 cubesats for various Japanese institutions & companies.

Sun-Synchronous Orbit
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Epsilon | RAISE-2 & others

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency | Japan
Uchinoura Space Center, Japan
Nov. 9, 2021, 12:55 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

8 payloads will fly on this mission : "RApid Innovative payload demonstration SatellitE-2" (RAISE-2), DRUMS (Debris Removal Unprecedented Micro-Satellite), Hibari, Z-Sat, and four CubeSat (ASTERISC, ARICA, NANODRAGON, KOSEN-1).

Low Earth Orbit
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Epsilon | RAPIS-1 & others

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency | Japan
Uchinoura Space Center, Japan
Jan. 18, 2019, 12:50 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

A rideshare mission to launch experimental microsats and cubesats. Main payload is RAPIS-1 (RAPid Innovative payload demonstration Satellite 1), which will test several new technologies in space.

Sun-Synchronous Orbit
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Epsilon | ASNARO-2

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency | Japan
Uchinoura Space Center, Japan
Jan. 17, 2018, 9:06 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

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.

Sun-Synchronous Orbit
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Epsilon | ERG (ARASE)

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency | Japan
Uchinoura Space Center, Japan
Dec. 20, 2016, 11 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

The ERG  (Exploration of energization and Radiation in Geospace) project is a mission to study the Van Allen belts. The task is to elucidate how highly charged electrons are born while they generate and vanish repeatedly along with space storms caused by the disturbance of solar wind, influenced by space storms, and how space storms are developed.

Elliptical Orbit
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Epsilon | Hisaki (SPRINT-A)

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency | Japan
Uchinoura Space Center, Japan
Sept. 14, 2013, 5 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

Hisaki, also known as the Spectroscopic Planet Observatory for Recognition of Interaction of Atmosphere (SPRINT-A) is a Japanese ultraviolet astronomy satellite operated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Hisaki carries an extreme ultraviolet spectrometer which will be used to study the composition of the atmospheres and the behavior of the magnetospheres of the planets of the Solar System.

Low Earth Orbit
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New Shepard
Success
13 hours, 40 minutes ago
NS-33
West Texas Suborbital Launch Site/ Corn Ranch - Corn Ranch, Van Horn, TX, USA

NS-33 is the 13th crewed flight for the New Shepard program and the 33rd in its history.


Falcon 9
Success
1 day, 11 hours ago
Starlink Group 15-7
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 26 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


H-IIA
Success
1 day, 11 hours ago
GOSAT-GW (Ibuki GW)
Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-1 - Tanegashima Space Center, Japan

GOSAT-GW (Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite Greenhouse gases and Water cycle), also known as Ibuki GW and formerly known as GOSAT 3, is JAXA's nex…


Electron
Success
1 day, 21 hours ago
Symphony In The Stars
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

'Symphony In The Stars' is the first of two dedicated missions on Electron to deploy a single spacecraft to a 650km circular Earth orbit for a confid…


Falcon 9
Success
1 day, 23 hours ago
Starlink Group 10-34
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.