The Brazilian Space Agency is the civilian authority in Brazil responsible for the country's space program. It operates a spaceport at Alcântara,and a rocket launch site at Barreira do Inferno. It is the largest and most prominent space agency in Latin America.
The National Space Development Agency of Japan,or NASDA,was a Japanese national space agency established on October 1,1969 under the National Space Development Agency Law only for peaceful purposes. Based on the Space Development Program enacted by the Minister of Education,Culture,Sports,Science and Technology (MEXT),NASDA was responsible for developing satellites and launch vehicles as well as launching and tracking them.
This article outlines notable events occurring in 2006 in spaceflight,including major launches and EVAs. 2006 saw Brazil,Iran,and Sweden all get a national into space for the first time.
Several significant events in spaceflight occurred in 2009,including Iran conducting its first indigenous orbital launch,the first Swiss satellite being launched and New Zealand launching its first sounding rocket. The H-IIB and Naro-1 rockets conducted maiden flights,whilst the Tsyklon-3,Falcon 1 and Ariane 5GS were retired from service. The permanent crew of the International Space Station increased from three to six in May,and in the last few months of the year,Japan's first resupply mission to the outpost,HTV-1,was conducted successfully.
This comparison of orbital launch systems lists the attributes of all individual rocket configurations designed to reach orbit. A first list contains rockets that are currently operational or in development;a second list includes all retired rockets. For the simple list of all conventional launcher families,see:Comparison of orbital launchers families. For the list of predominantly solid-fueled orbital launch systems,see:Comparison of solid-fueled orbital launch systems.
Several Asian national space programs are attempting to achieve the scientific and technological advancements necessary for regular spaceflight,as well as to reap the strategic and economic benefits of space capability. This is sometimes referred to as the Asian space race in popular media,an allusion to the Cold-War-era Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union.
The H–I or H–1 was a Japanese liquid-fuelled carrier rocket,consisting of a licence-produced American first stage and set of booster rockets,and all-Japanese upper stages. The H in the name represented the use of liquid hydrogen fuel in the second stage. It was launched nine times between 1986 and 1992. It replaced the N-II,and was subsequently replaced by the H-II,which used the same upper stages with a Japanese first stage.
The N-I or N-1 was a derivative of the American Thor-Delta rocket,produced under license in Japan. The N stood for "Nippon" (Japan). It used a Long Tank Thor first stage,a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries-designed LE-3 engine on the second stage,and three Castor SRMs. Seven were launched between 1975 and 1982,before it was replaced by the N-II. Six of the seven launches were successful,however on the fifth flight,there was recontact between the satellite and the third stage,which caused the satellite to fail.
Waseda-SAT2 is a Japanese satellite which launched in May 2010. It is a student-built spacecraft,which will be operated by Waseda University,and is intended to be used for Earth observation and technology demonstration. It will test the use of extendible paddles to provide attitude control. The satellite is a single unit CubeSat.
Hayato,known before launch as KSAT,or the Kagoshima Satellite,is a Japanese satellite which was launched on 20 May 2010. It is a student-built spacecraft,which is operated by Kagoshima University,and is being used for technology demonstration and atmospheric research. The satellite is a single unit CubeSat,and carries equipment to study water vapour in the Earth's atmosphere,microwave imagery and spacecraft communication.
Negai☆″ is a Japanese satellite which launched in May 2010. It is a student-built spacecraft,which will be operated by Soka University,and is intended to be used for technology demonstration. The satellite is a single unit CubeSat,and will be used to test a field programmable gate array in orbit. As part of an outreach programme,it will carry the names of selected children,along with wishes they have made. The satellite will return images of the Earth,which will be given to the participating children.
The Japanese space program originated in the mid-1950s as a research group led by Hideo Itokawa at the University of Tokyo. The size of the rockets produced gradually increased from under 30 cm (12 in) at the start of the project,to over 15 m (49 ft) by the mid-1960s. The aim of the original research project was to launch a man-made satellite.
In 2014,the maiden flight of the Angara A5,Antares 120 and Antares 130 took place.
Several new rockets and spaceports began operations in 2016.
This following table is a comparison of orbital launcher families. To see lists of all launch systems,separated by current operational status,see Comparison of orbital launch systems.
Notable spaceflight activities in 2017 included the maiden flight of India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III on 5 June and the first suborbital test of Rocket Lab's Electron rocket,inaugurating the Mahia spaceport in New Zealand. The rocket is named for its innovative Rutherford engine which feeds propellants via battery-powered electric motors instead of the usual gas generator and turbopumps.
The Epsilon Launch Vehicle,or Epsilon rocket,is a Japanese solid-fuel rocket designed to launch scientific satellites. It is a follow-on project to the larger and more expensive M-V rocket which was retired in 2006. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) began developing the Epsilon in 2007. It is capable of placing a 590 kg payload into Sun-synchronous orbit.
Hisaki,also known as the Spectroscopic Planet Observatory for Recognition of Interaction of Atmosphere (SPRINT-A) is a Japanese ultraviolet astronomy satellite operated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The first mission of the Small Scientific Satellite program,it was launched in September 2013 on the maiden flight of the Epsilon rocket.
A small-lift launch vehicle is a rocket orbital launch vehicle that is capable of lifting up to 2,000 kg (4,400 lb) or up to 5,000 kilograms (11,000 lb) of payload into low Earth orbit (LEO). The next larger category consists of medium-lift launch vehicles.
