LAUNCH CENTER
Success
Thu Nov 27 1997
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
TRMM & ETS 7
Launch Successful
LAUNCH PREVIEW
Launch Time
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(9:27 PM UTC)
Launch Window Start
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(9:27 PM UTC)
Launch Window End
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(9:27 PM UTC)
RECOVERY OVERVIEW
Location
No Recovery Specified
Type
No Recovery Specified
Rocket Details
Name:
H-IIDescription:
The H-II rocket was a Japanese satellite launch system which flew seven times between 1994 and 1999 with 5 successes. It was developed by NASDA in order to give Japan a capability to launch larger satellites in the 1990s. It was the first two stage liquid fuelled rocket Japan made using only domestic technologies.
MISSION OVERVIEW
- Type: Earth Science
- TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) is the first space mission dedicated to quantitatively measuring tropical and subtropical rainfall which is one of the most important and least-known parameters affecting the global climate system. ETS-VII (Engineering Test Satellite, "Kiku 7") was launched aboard the H-2 No. 6 rocket from Tanegashima Space Center in November 1997.mETS-VII itself comprises two satellites: "Orihime" and "Hikoboshi". "Orihime" is a target satellite weighing approximately 400 kilograms. It is placed in a fixed circular orbit at an altitude of roughly 550 kilometers. "Hikoboshi" is a chaser satellite, weighing some 2.5 tons. It moves in a variable orbit to rendezvous and dock with "Orihime". "Hikoboshi" is equipped with a six-jointed, three-clawed robot arm two meters long.
COMPLEX OVERVIEW
Location
Tanegashima, Japan
Pad
Yoshinobu Launch Complex