7 ms·

This is a very cool thing ! I did not even know that Japan had a space program. I guess they are not advertising as much as NASA does.

TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago
I am flabbergasted that you were not aware of JAXA. How is this possible. What are people been taught? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JAXA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JAXA
- TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago
  On 9 May 2003, Hayabusa (meaning, Peregrine falcon), was launched from an M-V rocket. The goal of the mission was to collect samples from a small near-Earth asteroid named 25143 Itokawa. The craft rendezvoused with the asteroid in September 2005. It was confirmed that the spacecraft successfully landed on the asteroid in November 2005, after some initial confusion regarding the incoming data. Hayabusa returned to Earth with samples from the asteroid on 13 June 2010.
- ygra 8y ago
  https://www.xkcd.com/1053/ https://www.xkcd.com/1053/ Keep in mind that not everyone knows the same things. Why not just be happy that they learned something?
  - TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago
    Hmmm. Disturbing. I’m going to leave the post in place but also feel a little embarrassed.
- goto11 8y ago
  > How is this possible. What are people been taught? For each and every think you know, there was a time where you didn't know it.
  - godzilla82 8y ago
    It would be interesting, if you could give a proof by induction!
- csunbird 8y ago
  Well, to be honest, in my country, we were only taught about the space race to the moon between Russia and USA. I already knew other countries were launching rockets/satellites to the space but I always assumed they are not for scientific reasons.
- lordgrenville 8y ago
  obligatory xkcd https://xkcd.com/1053/ https://xkcd.com/1053/
- magduf 8y ago
  It's just typical American ignorance about anything outside of America. American schools don't teach much about other countries, except of course what happened in WWII. Most Americans probably have no idea that Japan has a space program, or Europe (ESA), and they'd be lucky to know that China has one, and only then only because their recent far-side-of-the-Moon mission (with cool photo) has been in the news recently.
  - adventured 8y ago
    It's inappropriate and beneath HN standards to classify an entire country as being typically ignorant. Such a wild, broad generalization about hundreds of millions of people is impossible to support.
    - magduf 8y ago
      It's not a generalization about hundreds of millions of people, it's a generalization about the public education system in the US, and it's entirely valid. The US consistently ranks at the very bottom of public education rankings of all industrialized nations. This isn't inappropriate, this is supported by reams of research and explains how people in this thread can be ignorant about worldly matters.
      - adventured 8y ago
        > It's just typical American ignorance about anything outside of America That's a generalization about hundreds of millions of people. You were very clear. When it comes to education, according to the PISA, at a 15 year old level of development, the US ranks just behind Norway and ahead of France, Sweden and Austria on science; ahead of Israel and Greece on mathematics and just behind Slovakia; ahead of Spain, Austria and Switzerland on reading and just behind the UK, France, Sweden and Denmark. On reading the US is one point behind the UK, and two points behind France; the UK is 37 points behind Singapore (the top) for comparison of the scale. The US is 20 points behind the UK in mathematics; the UK is 72 points behind Singapore and 29 points behind Switzerland. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/02/15/u-s-students-internationally-math-science/ http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/02/15/u-s-students...
pjc50 8y ago
Lots of countries have a space program, of varying levels of capability. Even Bolivia.
- magduf 8y ago
  But not Australia, until only the middle of last year.
frostburg 8y ago
The intended audience is mostly China ("look at how similiar to an ICBM this space rocket is"), but the program is scientifically very useful despite that.
- walrus01 8y ago
  Due to the time it takes to prepare and launch one, liquid fueled rockets have very limited strategic or tactical relevance... The US learned this with the first generation of titan ICBMs which were stored horizontally and intended to be erected+fueled on demand for launch.
  - frostburg 8y ago
    The Epsilon is a solid fuel rocket.
- travbrack 8y ago
  Was there really any question whether Japan could build an ICBM though? Russia and maybe even North Korea can make them.
  - mouldysammich 8y ago
    Why put Russia under the category of North Korea, are they not accomplished enough in the rocket department to be considered closer to the US?
    - geomark 8y ago
      Isn't the US still buying rockest from Russia for critical launches? I'd say Russia might have a bit of an edge.
      - adventured 8y ago
        The US doesn't buy rockets from Russia, ULA uses the RD-180 engine until the new Blue Origin engine is ready. The ULA rockets are eg Atlas V (uses the RS-180) and Delta IV. The Delta IV rocket and heavy lift variation uses the RS-68 [1] engine, which is US tech. Their new Vulcan rocket will use the Blue Origin engine. SpaceX is certified for critical / national security launches and does not use Russia tech. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RS-68 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RS-68
zkms 8y ago
Have you read of Akatsuki, JAXA's Venus orbiter? It suffered a grievous propulsion failure in 2010 when a pressurant valve failed, causing its large main engine to run oxidizer-rich -- its nozzle thus shattered and fell off. It was therefore unable to enter Venus orbit in 2010. However, JAXA engineers saved the spacecraft and salvaged the mission: after five years of orbiting the sun (beyond its expected lifetime), Akatsuki's far smaller attitude-control thrusters were lit up (for 20 minutes straight!), causing it to successfully enter Venusian orbit in 2015, and it's been functioning ever since.
- yingw787 8y ago
  This is really cool! Thanks for sharing!
buboard 8y ago
that is surely not common. Japan is in the ISS
- cheeko1234 8y ago
  I work at NASA. Trust me, it's common and sad. Barely anyone here knows the existence of this amazing feat of human engineering. I guarantee if the U.S. was involved in any way, it would be everywhere.
lmm 8y ago
Most space agencies are more prominent in their home countries than abroad. JAXA is fairly prominent in Japan.

TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago

I am flabbergasted that you were not aware of JAXA. How is this possible. What are people been taught? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JAXA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JAXA

TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago
On 9 May 2003, Hayabusa (meaning, Peregrine falcon), was launched from an M-V rocket. The goal of the mission was to collect samples from a small near-Earth asteroid named 25143 Itokawa. The craft rendezvoused with the asteroid in September 2005. It was confirmed that the spacecraft successfully landed on the asteroid in November 2005, after some initial confusion regarding the incoming data. Hayabusa returned to Earth with samples from the asteroid on 13 June 2010.
ygra 8y ago
https://www.xkcd.com/1053/ https://www.xkcd.com/1053/ Keep in mind that not everyone knows the same things. Why not just be happy that they learned something?
- TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago
  Hmmm. Disturbing. I’m going to leave the post in place but also feel a little embarrassed.
goto11 8y ago
> How is this possible. What are people been taught? For each and every think you know, there was a time where you didn't know it.
- godzilla82 8y ago
  It would be interesting, if you could give a proof by induction!
csunbird 8y ago
Well, to be honest, in my country, we were only taught about the space race to the moon between Russia and USA. I already knew other countries were launching rockets/satellites to the space but I always assumed they are not for scientific reasons.
lordgrenville 8y ago
obligatory xkcd https://xkcd.com/1053/ https://xkcd.com/1053/
magduf 8y ago
It's just typical American ignorance about anything outside of America. American schools don't teach much about other countries, except of course what happened in WWII. Most Americans probably have no idea that Japan has a space program, or Europe (ESA), and they'd be lucky to know that China has one, and only then only because their recent far-side-of-the-Moon mission (with cool photo) has been in the news recently.
- adventured 8y ago
  It's inappropriate and beneath HN standards to classify an entire country as being typically ignorant. Such a wild, broad generalization about hundreds of millions of people is impossible to support.
  - magduf 8y ago
    It's not a generalization about hundreds of millions of people, it's a generalization about the public education system in the US, and it's entirely valid. The US consistently ranks at the very bottom of public education rankings of all industrialized nations. This isn't inappropriate, this is supported by reams of research and explains how people in this thread can be ignorant about worldly matters.
    - adventured 8y ago
      > It's just typical American ignorance about anything outside of America That's a generalization about hundreds of millions of people. You were very clear. When it comes to education, according to the PISA, at a 15 year old level of development, the US ranks just behind Norway and ahead of France, Sweden and Austria on science; ahead of Israel and Greece on mathematics and just behind Slovakia; ahead of Spain, Austria and Switzerland on reading and just behind the UK, France, Sweden and Denmark. On reading the US is one point behind the UK, and two points behind France; the UK is 37 points behind Singapore (the top) for comparison of the scale. The US is 20 points behind the UK in mathematics; the UK is 72 points behind Singapore and 29 points behind Switzerland. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/02/15/u-s-students-internationally-math-science/ http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/02/15/u-s-students...

pjc50 8y ago

Lots of countries have a space program, of varying levels of capability. Even Bolivia.

magduf 8y ago
But not Australia, until only the middle of last year.

frostburg 8y ago

The intended audience is mostly China ("look at how similiar to an ICBM this space rocket is"), but the program is scientifically very useful despite that.

walrus01 8y ago
Due to the time it takes to prepare and launch one, liquid fueled rockets have very limited strategic or tactical relevance... The US learned this with the first generation of titan ICBMs which were stored horizontally and intended to be erected+fueled on demand for launch.
- frostburg 8y ago
  The Epsilon is a solid fuel rocket.
travbrack 8y ago
Was there really any question whether Japan could build an ICBM though? Russia and maybe even North Korea can make them.
- mouldysammich 8y ago
  Why put Russia under the category of North Korea, are they not accomplished enough in the rocket department to be considered closer to the US?
  - geomark 8y ago
    Isn't the US still buying rockest from Russia for critical launches? I'd say Russia might have a bit of an edge.
    - adventured 8y ago
      The US doesn't buy rockets from Russia, ULA uses the RD-180 engine until the new Blue Origin engine is ready. The ULA rockets are eg Atlas V (uses the RS-180) and Delta IV. The Delta IV rocket and heavy lift variation uses the RS-68 [1] engine, which is US tech. Their new Vulcan rocket will use the Blue Origin engine. SpaceX is certified for critical / national security launches and does not use Russia tech. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RS-68 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RS-68

zkms 8y ago

Have you read of Akatsuki, JAXA's Venus orbiter? It suffered a grievous propulsion failure in 2010 when a pressurant valve failed, causing its large main engine to run oxidizer-rich -- its nozzle thus shattered and fell off. It was therefore unable to enter Venus orbit in 2010. However, JAXA engineers saved the spacecraft and salvaged the mission: after five years of orbiting the sun (beyond its expected lifetime), Akatsuki's far smaller attitude-control thrusters were lit up (for 20 minutes straight!), causing it to successfully enter Venusian orbit in 2015, and it's been functioning ever since.

yingw787 8y ago
This is really cool! Thanks for sharing!

buboard 8y ago

that is surely not common. Japan is in the ISS

cheeko1234 8y ago
I work at NASA. Trust me, it's common and sad. Barely anyone here knows the existence of this amazing feat of human engineering. I guarantee if the U.S. was involved in any way, it would be everywhere.

lmm 8y ago

Most space agencies are more prominent in their home countries than abroad. JAXA is fairly prominent in Japan.