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Japan Aims For New Space Success With Galactic Survey
Tokyo, Japan (AFP) Feb 21, 2006 Japan plans to launch on Wednesday its third satellite in under a month to research how galaxies are born as it seeks to bolster confidence in its space program after a series of setbacks. The Astro-F will survey the skies with its infra-red camera and is expected to detect more than 10 million galaxies, helping astronomers to investigate their origins and evolution and to study the life cycle of stars. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has scheduled the launch for 6:28 am Wednesday (2128 GMT Tuesday). If it goes without a glitch, it will be Japan's third successful liftoff in less than a month following its humiliating failure in November 2003 to launch a spy satellite. The rocket carrying the satellite to monitor North Korea had to be destroyed soon after liftoff due to technical problems. Japan's space ambitions were dealt a further blow last year by the apparent failure of a landmark mission to bring back samples from an asteroid. Heavy rainfall delayed the latest launch by one day but the space agency is confident weather conditions are now suitable. "As skies are blue now, we believe we will be able to go ahead with the launch (Wednesday)," said a spokesman at the Uchinoura Space Center, the launch site, in southern Japan. Japan is seeking a slice of the lucrative commercial satellite market currently dominated by US and European operators. China is also pressing ahead in its space activities and has now achieved two successful manned missions since the first in October 2003, with space walks and dockings planned for the next manned flight. The latest Japanese satellite, the 960 kilogram (2,112 pound) Astro-F, is equipped with a 67-centimeter (26.8-inch) diameter telescope and two sets of instruments for infra-red observations. It will orbit the Earth above the twilight zone, passing over the North and South Poles and will be able to make an all-sky survey in half a year. JAXA successfully put into orbit a land-observation satellite on January 24, followed by the launch Saturday of a satellite for air-traffic control. Japan has chosen to concentrate on satellites and other unmanned technology but is also expected to develop its own manned space craft, similar to the US Space Shuttle, and eventually develop a space station on the moon in 2025.
Source: Agence France-Presse Related Links JAXA
JAXA Launches Space Telescope
Uchinoura Space Center, Kagoshima (SPX) Feb 22, 2006JAXA launched its ASTRO-F infrared space telescope aboard an M-5 rocket at 6:28 a.m. local time Wednesday, the BBC and Xinhua news services reported. The launch had been delayed 48 hours due to heavy rains. |
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