Tag: JAXA

KiboCUBE: Team from the Republic of Moldova Selected for Fourth Round

News 0
TUMnanoSAT (Credit; JAXA)

TOKYO (JAXA PR) — The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) have been cooperating under the KiboCUBE programme launched in 2015 to provide opportunities to deploy CubeSats from the Japanese Experiment Module “Kibo” of the International Space Station (ISS).

JAXA and OOSA have selected a team from the National Center of Space Technologies of the Technical University of Moldova for the fourth round of KiboCUBE, which called for applications from October 1, 2018 to February 28, 2019. (Reference 1).

KiboCUBE contributes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially Goal 4 “Quality Education” and Goal 9 “Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure,” and this programme aims to contribute to the enhancement of space related technology in developing countries. Last year, JAXA and OOSA have agreed to extend the KiboCUBE programme, and we are welcoming many applications for the current fifth round of KiboCUBE. (Reference 2).

(more…)

JAXA, AIST Paving Way for Fabricating Integrated Circuits in Space

News 4
Fig. 1: Traditional Mega Fab and Minimal Fab (Credit: JAXA)

Highlights

  • Japan Aerospace eXploration Agency (JAXA) is aiming to produce integrated circuits (ICs) for space applications with a small-volume production system (Minimal Fab) (Figure 1). Using a practical SOI-CMOS with two-layer aluminum wiring process, Technology 2018, developed by National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) (Figure 2), JAXA has designed an IC which contains around 1000 transistors (4bit shift resistor and an I/O circuit) and manufactured a prototype chip (Figure 3) whose operations has been demonstrated successfully (Figure 4).
  • AIST has built a fully automatic Minimal Fab system, which enables a circuit designer to manufacture a semiconductor device on his own by operating a series of manufacturing equipment. Maneuvered by a JAXA circuit engineer, the new system has proven itself and produced the above ICs.
  • These prototyping and operational demonstration have opened the way to manufacturing electronic devices aboard spacecraft with a Minimal Fab process, which is expected to broaden the applications of the new process.

TOKYO (JAXA PR) — JAXA and AIST have been conducting a joint research project concerning the applications of a small-volume production system (Minimal Fab) (Figure 1) to aerospace research and development applications, and have demonstrated for the first time in the world that the new system can realize ICs intended for use in space.

(more…)

Sierra Nevada to Provide Hardware for Japanese HTV-X ISS Missions

News 26
HTV-6 cargo ship approaches the International Space Station. (Credit: NASA)

SPARKS, Nev., May 31, 2019 (SNC PR) –Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), the global aerospace and national security contractor owned by SNC CEO Fatih Ozmen and Chairwoman and President Eren Ozmen, teamed with the Marubun Corporation of Tokyo, Japan and has been awarded a contract to supply critical hardware for Japan’s HTV-X cargo spacecraft.

(more…)

Hayabusa2 Program Wins Two Prestigious Awards

News 1
The award for Hayabusa2. Project Manager Tsuda (far left) received the award. (Credit: Hayabusa2 Project)

TOKYO (JAXA PR) — The Hayabusa2 Project has received awards from the Aviation Week Network and the Japan Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences.

(more…)

Ryugu’s Fast-spinning Past Shaped the Asteroid’s Western Hemisphere

News 0
Figure 1: When viewed from a certain direction (90 degrees west), the angle of the equatorial ridge on Ryugu becomes very sharp. This feature is also discussed in the paper led by Sei’ichiro Watanabe. (Hirabayashi, M.+, 2019)

TOKYO (JAXA PR) — The Astrophysical Journal Letters is an academic journal for research results in astronomy and astrophysics published in the United States. Our paper on the shape of asteroid Ryugu was recently included in the journal (publication date: March 26, 2019) entitled:

Hirabayashi, M., and 28 colleagues, “The western bulge of 162173 Ryugu formed as a result of a rotationally driven deformation process,” The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 2019, 874, 1, doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ab0e8b .
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ab0e8b

In this article, we will highlight our main findings from this research.

(more…)

Earth vs. Asteroids: Humans Strike Back

News 0
SCI impactor on way to Ryugu asteroid (Credit: JAXA/The University of Tokyo/Kochi University/Rikkyo University/Nagoya University/Chiba Institute of Technology/Meiji University/The University of Aizu/AIST)

PARIS (ESA PR) — Incoming asteroids have been scarring our home planet for billions of years. This month humankind left our own mark on an asteroid for the first time: Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft dropped a copper projectile at very high speed in an attempt to form a crater on asteroid Ryugu. A much bigger asteroid impact is planned for the coming decade, involving an international double-spacecraft mission.

(more…)

JAXA Confirms Creation of Artificial Crater on Asteroid Ryugu

News 2
These images were captured by the Optical Navigation Camera – Telescopic onboard Hayabusa2. By comparing the two images, we have confirmed that an artificial crater was created in the area surrounded by dotted lines. The size and depth of the crater are now under analysis. (Credit: JAXA, The University of Tokyo, Kochi University, Rikkyo University, Nagoya University, Chiba Institute of Technology, Meiji University, The University of Aizu, AIST)

TOKYO (JAXA PR) — Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) separated the SCI (Small Carry-on Impactor), which had been onboard the asteroid explorer Hayabusa2, on April 5, 2019, for deployment to Ryugu, and then put the SCI into operation.

As a result of checking the images captured by the Optical Navigation Camera – Telescopic (ONC-T) onboard the asteroid explorer Hayabusa2, we have concluded that a crater was created by the SCI.

Hayabusa2 is operating normally.

Hayabusa2 Images Artificial Crater on Asteroid Ryugu

News 1

S-Booster Competition Seeks Commercial Space Ideas in Asia

News 0


S-Booster is looking for new business ideas to utilize space assets from those who aim for launching a new project in the company or starting his or her own business. Through mentoring by space business experts, the selected entrants will receive support such as how to commercialize an idea and to capitalize it. S-Booster finalists will be presenting their own business ideas directly to investors and business companies who are keen to support great space projects, where we believe organic matching happen to realize subsequent commercialization of the great ideas.

In its third year, S-Booster 2019 will expand the recruitment area to Asia – Oceania region and invite space and business ideas broadly.

Qualifying session will be held separately for those from Japan and from other Asian region, and those who are selected from each session will go into the Final Presentation held in Tokyo on November 25, 2019.

For more information, click here.

We Return to the Moon, But We Won’t Do It Alone

News 46
Jim Bridenstine (Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Jim Bridenstine Blog
NASA Administrator

When President Donald Trump charged NASA with returning to the Moon, he specified that we partner with industry and other nations to make it possible. Today, on the first day of the 35thSpace Symposium in Colorado we continue our commitment to work with innovative partners as we chart our path forward to the moon in 2024.

The Space Symposium provided me and the NASA team a unique opportunity for dialogue, as it is the first major international public forum to discuss President Trump’s and Vice President Pence’s 2024 moon challenge.  Earlier today I met with several members of the international community to discuss our lunar exploration plans and reiterated NASA’s commitment to move forward to the Moon with strong international collaboration.

(more…)

Counting the Many Ways the International Space Station Benefits Humanity

News 4

HOUSTON (NASA PR) — The third edition of NASA’s “International Space Station Benefits for Humanity” book now is available. The new edition fills more than 200 pages with the many benefits of conducting research on the orbiting microgravity laboratory and includes new assessments of the economic value — as well as greater detail about the scientific value — of the International Space Station.

(more…)

Japan’s Hayabusa2 Blasts Asteroid Ryugu

News 0
Asteroid Ryugu with north polar boulder (Credit: JAXA, University of Tokyo, Kochi University, Rikkyo University, Nagoya University, Chiba Institute of Technology, Meiji University, University of Aizu and AIST)

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

After billions of years of being bombarded by cosmic debris, the Earth finally struck back on Friday.

Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft bombed the asteroid Ryugu in an ambitious attempt to collect samples from beneath the rocky world’s surface. JAXA has confirmed that the orbiter is safe and sound following the operation. The space agency is still downloading images and data acquired during the operation.

(more…)

JAXA Space Exploration Hub Center Co-Produces Results on Remote and Automatic Control to Build Lunar Base

News 2
Computer generated image of remotely operated construction of lunar base. (Credit: JAXA)

TOKYO (JAXA PR) — National Research and Development Agency Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (President: Hiroshi Yamakawa, hereafter JAXA) and Kajima Corporation (President and Representative Director: Yoshikazu Oshimi) have promoted research and development on the remote construction system by coordination of remote and automatic control.*

(more…)

JAXA, UNOSA Open Fifth Round of KiboCUBE

News 0
Successful deployment of 1KUNS-PF (Kenyan Satellite, selected as first round of KiboCUBE) from Kibo in May, 2018. (Credit: JAXA)

TOKYO (JAXA PR) — Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) is pleased to announce the opening of the fifth round of KiboCUBE.

(more…)

Super Low Altitude Tsubame Satellite Transitions to Orbit Keeping Operations

News 0
The Super Low Altitude Test Satellite. (Credit: JAXA)

TOKYO (JAXA PR) — National Research and Exploration Agency Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched Tsubame (*1), The Super Low Altitude Test Satellite, on December 23, 2017. The Tsubame satellite completed its orbit transfer phase and will transition on April 2 to the orbit keeping phase, powered by the ion engines.

(more…)