Launch Schedule of the Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstoration-2 aboard Epsilon-5
September 29, 2021 (JST)
National Research & Development Agency Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
National Research and Development Agency Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) hereby announces the launch schedule of the Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstoration-2 aboard the fifth Epsilon Launch Vehicle (Epsilon-5) as follows;
Launch date: October 1, 2021 Launch Time: 9:51:21 a.m. (Japan Standard Time, JST) Launch Window: 9:51:21 a.m. (JST) through 9:55:16 a.m. (JST) Reserved Launch Period: October 2, 2021 through November 30, 2021
Cancellation of Today’s Launch of the Epsilon-5 Carrying the Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-2
October 1, 2021 (JST)
National Research & Development Agency Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) scheduled the launch of the fifth Epsilon Launch Vehicle (Epsilon-5) carrying the Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-2 at 9:51:21 on October 1st, 2021 (JST) from the Uchinoura Space Center and had worked towards this target; however, due to the necessity of additional examinations on the grand facilities, the emergency stop was activated approximately 19 seconds before the launch. Today’s planned launch has thus been cancelled.
JAXA will provide constant updates on the situation.
The new launch date will be announced as soon as it is determined.
Quelle: JAXA
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Update: 6.10.2021
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Vietnam's NanoDragon satellite set to enter orbit on Oct 7
The solid-fuel Epsilon 5 rocket at the launch pad on October 5.— VNA/VNS
HANOI (Vietnam News/Asia News Network): The made in Vietnam NanoDragon satellite is scheduled to be launched into orbit on Oct 7.
The announcement was made by Associate Professor, Phạm Anh Tuấn, General Director of the Vietnam National Space Centre (VNSC) under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology.
The launch is slated to take place from 7:51.21 am to 7:55.16 am (Hanoi time), according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
The solid-fuel Epsilon 5 rocket will carry the NanoDragon satellite and eight others into space. It will be launched from JAXA’s Uchinoura Space Centre in the town of Kimotsuki in south-western Kagoshima prefecture of Japan.
JAXA on Oct 1 morning suspended the launch of the rocket some 19 seconds before the scheduled lift-off time.
According to the agency, a glitch occurred at ground radar equipment that monitors the Epsilon-5's position and speed, located near the rocket's launching pad. It could have caused a problem in tracking the rocket, JAXA added.
The NanoDragon, a nano-layer cubesat satellite which weighs 3.8 kilogrammes, was developed by the VNSC.
The satellite was delivered to Japan and tested at the Uchinoura Space Centre in Kagoshima prefecture in August before being officially transferred to the JAXA for launching under the second "Innovative satellite technology demonstration" programme.
Quelle: TheStar
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Update: 7.10.2021
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Start von Wpsilon5 verschoben
Launch of 9 Japanese satellites scrubbed due to strong winds
Quelle: JAXA
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Launch of Japan's Epsilon-5 Rocket Put Off Again
Kimotsuki, Kagoshima Pref., Oct. 7 (Jiji Press)--The launch of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's fifth Epsilon solid-fuel rocket, scheduled for Thursday morning, was postponed due to unsuitable weather conditions.
Wind conditions in the upper sky did not meet the criteria for liftoff, according to JAXA, which decided on the postponement about 20 minutes before the planned launch time at 9:51 a.m. (12:51 a.m. GMT).
The 26-meter, 96-ton rocket carrying nine small satellites was set to be launched from JAXA's Uchinoura Space Center in the town of Kimotsuki, Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan.
The latest postponement came after the launch was rescheduled once.
JAXA initially planned to launch the Epsilon-5 on Friday morning. The launch was cancelled some 19 seconds before the scheduled liftoff time as a glitch occurred at ground radar equipment due to a loosened cable connection.
Quelle: nippon.com
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Update: 9.11.2021
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9 small satellites launch to orbit atop Japanese rocket
Liftoff occurred at 7:55 p.m. EST tonight (0055 GMT on Nov. 9).
A Japanese Epsilon rocket launches the the Rapid Innovative Payload Demonstration Satellite 2 and eight other small spacecraft from Uchinoura Space Center on Nov. 8, 2021. (Image credit: JAXA)
Nine small satellites launched to Earth orbit atop a Japanese rocket tonight (Nov. 8), on a mission to test a variety of spaceflight technologies.
An Epsilon rocket lifted off from Japan's Uchinoura Space Center at 7:55 p.m. EST (0055 GMT and 9:55 a.m. local Japan time on Nov. 8).
It's carrying to orbit the Rapid Innovative Payload Demonstration Satellite 2, or RAISE 2 for short, and eight tagalong spacecraft for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
As its full name suggests, the 240-pound (110 kilograms) RAISE 2 is a technology demonstrator. The spacecraft, which was built by Mitsubishi Electric Corp., will test six different space technologies, including a small sensor called MARIN designed to gauge the position, altitude and velocity of orbiting satellites, JAXA officials said.
The other eight satellites, which were manufactured by a variety of Japanese companies and universities, are even smaller than the 3.3-foot-wide (1 meter) RAISE 2. Four of the rideshare spacecraft weigh 8.8 pounds (4 kg) or less, and the other four tip the scales at between 101 pounds and 137 pounds (46 to 62 kg). (Those satellites will become weightless in orbit, of course, but they'll still have mass.)
The heftiest of the tagalongs is DRUMS ("Debris Removal Unprecedented Micro-satellite"), a craft built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries. The 2.75-foot-wide (84 centimeters) DRUMS will release a small object in orbit and then capture it, demonstrating tech that could eventually help humanity clean up space junk.
Tonight's launch was the fifth overall for the 78-foot-tall (24 m) Epsilon, which JAXA began developing in 2007. The solid-fuel rocket is capable of delivering to low Earth orbit payloads as heavy as 2,646 pounds (1,200 kg), according to its JAXA specifications page.
The four previous Epsilon launches — which took place in September 2013, December 2016, January 2018 and January 2019 — were all successful.
The 2019 launch lofted RAPIS 1 ("Rapid Innovative Payload Demonstration Satellite 1"), the primary payload on the first mission developed via JAXA's Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration Program. RAISE 2 is the second mission in that program, which seeks to encourage the development of innovative space tech, especially by universities and the private sector.
Quelle: SC
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Japan launches Epsilon small rocket carrying 9 satellites
Japan successfully launched a small, low-cost Epsilon rocket and put nine satellites into orbit on Tuesday, the country's space agency said, in the latest attempt to promote involvement by educational institutions and companies in space development.
The Epsilon-5 rocket lifted off from Uchinoura Space Center in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima at around 10 a.m., the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said. Initially planned for October, the launch was postponed three times due to technical and other reasons.
The Epsilon-5 rocket carrying nine satellites lifts off from Uchinoura Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on Nov. 9, 2021. (Kyodo)
The rocket, which measures 2.6 meters in diameter and 26 meters in length and weighs 96 tons, carried nine satellites, the most for a mission using an Epsilon.
One of the satellites aboard, developed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., is a demonstration craft designed to collect space debris.
Another satellite was jointly developed by 10 national technical institutes and will showcase a new technology that allows natural radio waves emitted by Jupiter to be surveyed.
JAXA last launched an Epsilon in January 2019, sending seven satellites into space.
The Epsilon series uses solid fuel, which takes less time to load on rockets than liquid propellant. Its artificial intelligence technology is designed to cut labor and launch costs, according to JAXA.
Development costs for the Epsilon-5 totaled 5.8 billion yen ($51 million).
