TOKYO (JAXA PR) — Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced that its Super Low Altitude Test Satellite “TSUBAME” (SLATS) was registered by the Guinness World Records (*1) as having achieved the “lowest altitude by an Earth observation satellite in orbit.”
1. Details on the Guinness World Record set by the Super Low Altitude Test Satellite “TSUBAME” (SLATS)
URL： https://www.guinnessworldrecords.jp/world-records/592663-lowest-altitude-earth-observation-satellite-in-orbit
TOKYO (JAXA PR) — Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has selected, following public solicitation, and signed an agreement with Space BD Inc. who provides private companies and universities with piggyback launch opportunities for their small satellites when JAXA launches its own satellites using H-IIA and H3 launch vehicles.
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LUXEMBOURG, December 13, 2019 (LSA PR) – The Luxembourg Space Agency today announced that Dr. Junichiro Kawaguchi, Senior Fellow at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will be joining the Advisory Board of the SpaceResources.lu initiative.
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KOBE, Japan (Kobe University PR) — Analysis of the impact craters on Ryugu using the spacecraft Hayabusa 2’s remote sensing image data has illuminated the geological history of the Near-Earth asteroid.
A research group led by Assistant Professor Naoyuki Hirata of the Department of Planetology at Kobe University’s Graduate School of Science revealed 77 craters on Ryugu. Through analyzing the location patterns and characteristics of the craters, they determined that the asteroid’s eastern and western hemispheres were formed at different periods of time.
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by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor
The sooner NASA can decide the future of the International Space Station (ISS), the easier it will be for the space agency to pursue its Artemis program to return astronauts to the moon by 2020, according to a new report from its Office of Inspector General (OIG).
“Whether NASA decides to extend, increase commercialization of, or retire the ISS, the timing of each of these decisions has a cascading effect on the funding available to support space flight operations in low Earth orbit, ambitions for establishing a permanent presence on the Moon, and ultimately sending humans to Mars,” the report stated.
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TOKYO (JAXA PR) — Bascule Inc. (Representative Director & President: Masayoshi Boku), SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation (Representative Director, President & Chief Executive Officer: Eiichi Yonekura), and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) (President: Hiroshi Yamakawa) announced the launch of activities to establish a studio in the International Space Station (ISS) to generate the “space media business.”
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HOUSTON (NASA PR) — The 19th SpaceX Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-19) contract mission for NASA carries a variety of cutting-edge scientific experiments to the International Space Station. The Dragon cargo spacecraft blasts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on a Falcon 9 rocket no earlier than Dec. 4, 2019.
Its payloads include investigations studying malting barley in microgravity, the spread of fire and bone and muscle loss, which will be added to the dozens of research projects already under way aboard the microgravity lab.
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GREENBELT, Md. (NASA PR) — An international team has found sugars essential to life in meteorites. The new discovery adds to the growing list of biologically important compounds that have been found in meteorites, supporting the hypothesis that chemical reactions in asteroids – the parent bodies of many meteorites – can make some of life’s ingredients. If correct, meteorite bombardment on ancient Earth may have assisted the origin of life with a supply of life’s building blocks.
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HOUSTON (NASA PR) — The International Space Station is a stepping stone for NASA’s Artemis program that will land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024. As the only place for conducting long-duration research on how living in microgravity affects living organisms, especially humans, as well as testing technologies to allow humans to work at the Moon, the space station serves as a unique asset in the effort establish a sustainable presence at the Moon.
Missions to the Moon will include a combination of time aboard the Gateway, on the lunar surface, and in multiple spacecraft including Orion and the human landing system. The skills and technologies developed to explore the Moon will help build the capabilities needed for future missions to Mars. Here are some of the ways this orbiting laboratory is contributing to the path forward to the Moon and Mars.
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TOKYO (JAXA PR) — Most satellites that are observing the Earth fly at an altitude of 600 kilometers to 800 kilometers above ground. When they are at that height, they hardly receive the effects of Earth’s atmosphere, and are able to remain in orbit in a stable manner for a long period of time.
The Super Low Altitude Test Satellite TSUBAME (SLATS) is about to defy this conventional way of orbiting satellites. This is the first ever Earth observation satellite that uses a super low orbit at an altitude of 300 kilometers or less.
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TOKYO (JAXA PR) — Continuous research effort on the high-fidelity numerical simulation to predict various physical phenomenon have been made in research and development directorate.
Efficient development risk identification and mitigation become possible by using numerical simulations rather than the high-cost experiments. In addition, an efficient investigation on the key physics mechanisms are also possible since the detailed physical data distributions are available.
Numerical simulations have been applied to wide variety of design problems such as the H3 rocket, the spacecrafts and the aircrafts.
TOKYO (JAXA PR) — Right now, work is underway on a construction plan for a moon-orbiting space station called Gateway. The goal is to be able to use Gateway as a base for conducting manned explorations to the moon, Mars and other planets lying further beyond.
However, in order to expand the areas in which human beings can venture into, we need to minimize the amount of supplies such as water, food, and research materials that must be transported from Earth to the target destination. This new water recovery system announced in July 2019 will make a significant contribution toward achieving this.
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KOGOSHIMA SPACE CENTER, Japan (JAXA PR) — The development of JAXA’s new rocket, the H3 Launch Vehicle, is steadily advancing toward the first launch in FY2020. Here at the Tanegashima Space Center (TNSC), renovation and construction work is also under way to prepare the launch facilities for the H3 rocket.
Its highlights are a new Movable Launcher (ML) and its transporters Dollies. The ML is a platform on which parts transported from factories are assembled into a rocket in the Vehicle Assemble Building. Before launch, a rocket on the ML is carried by the Dollies to the launch pad.
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PARIS (Arianespace PR) — Arianespace and the European Space Agency (ESA) today announced the signature of a launch services contract with a Soyuz launch vehicle for the EarthCARE satellite.
EarthCARE (Cloud, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer) satellite – the sixth mission in ESA’s Earth Explorer program – will advance our understanding of the role clouds and aerosols play in reflecting incident solar radiation back into space and trapping infrared radiation emitted from Earth’s surface.
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TOKYO (JAXA PR) — The Research and Development Directorate is conducting research and development in a variety of areas, with a focus on the two categories of “leading research” that will create “future,” and “Research for Secure Development and Success of Missions” that will connect “now” and “the future.”
One of such research and development is the dust-proof sealing technology for exploring the polar regions of the moon’s surface. Seals prevent leakage of liquids and gas from within the equipment, and also prevent external foreign substances such as dust and fine sand from entering into the equipment. Using an example from what we see in our daily lives, the waterproofing packing used around the faucets are also a type of such seals.
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