flown missionSuccess

H-IIA 204 | Kiku-8

Japan Aerospace Exploration AgencyYoshinobu Launch Complex LP-1 — Tanegashima Space Center, Japan

The launch vehicle successfully inserted its payload(s) into the target orbit(s).

mission

Name
Kiku-8
Type
Communications
Target orbit
Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO)

ETS-VIII (Engineering Test Satellite) is to be launched in 2006, with the main purpose of dealing with the increasing demand for digital communications, such as mobile phones and other mobile devices. The satellite, with a gross weight of around three tons and a diameter of 40 meters, has two Large Deployable Antenna Reflectors (LDAR) and two Solar Array paddles. One LDAR, about the size of a tennis court, is one of the world's largest geostationary satellites. Its size will enable direct communications with a geostationary satellite that covers all of Japan, making mobile communications more reliable. Currently under development are Large Deployable Antenna Reflectors with metal-mesh, high-power transponders, and on-board processors. The technologies used in the development of these LDARs will be applicable to other large space structures. A subscale test of the LDARs was flown as the LDREX experiment.

schedule

NET (no earlier than)
Window opens
Window closes
Last updated

vehicle & provider

Rocket
H-IIA 204
Family
H-II
Variant
204
Provider
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
Type
Government
Country
JPN

launch site

Pad
Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-1
Location
Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
Country
JPN
Timezone
Asia/Tokyo