Japan successfully launches military reconnaissance satellite
Japan today successfully launched a military reconnaissance satellite.
This was Japan’s fourth launch in 2018, putting it ahead of India and Europe in total launches this year.
17 China
11 SpaceX
6 Russia
5 ULA
4 Japan
The U.S. and China remain tied in the national standings.
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Japan today successfully launched a military reconnaissance satellite.
This was Japan’s fourth launch in 2018, putting it ahead of India and Europe in total launches this year.
17 China
11 SpaceX
6 Russia
5 ULA
4 Japan
The U.S. and China remain tied in the national standings.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Bob
Are you seriously considering the Japanese SS-520-5 flight to be classified as an orbital launch for your Japanese total of 4? The thing can only carry up to a maximum of 4 kg to LEO!
Zed_Weasel: It made it to orbit, so it counts as a launch. Considering the coming boom in cubesats, the development of a small rocket like this could bring enormous benefits to Japan, if they can get the technology into the private sector.
Zed_WEASEL,
Records of rocket launches tend to focus on the number of launches. Many list the number and names of satellites that were lofted, but few care about the mass of the payloads, either as individual satellites or as the aggregate launched to space. Few care about the usefulness of the payload or whether it is an inert mass on a test launch.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_spaceflight
Note that wikipedia highlighted February’s SS-520 launch as “becoming the lightest and smallest orbital launch vehicle ever.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_in_spaceflight#June
The space community considers an orbital launch to be an orbital launch, whether or not it only lifted a single 4kg 3U cubesat or a 140 tonne manned Moon mission. Had this launch failed, as did last year’s attempt, then it would have been recorded by many of those who keep records as a failed launch attempt — sometimes with an explanation of why it failed. Orbit need not be achieved for it to be recorded by most, although I think that Robert is only counting successful orbital launches, not failed attempts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_in_spaceflight
“The Japanese SS-520, a suborbital sounding rocket modified for orbital flight, failed to reach orbit in January. If successful, it would have become the smallest and lightest vehicle to ever put an object in orbit.”
http://spaceflight101.com/2017-space-launch-statistics/
“Mechanical friction between an electrical wire and cable cut-out on the Stage2/3 interface caused abrasion of the cable insulation, leading to a short circuit between the cable & grounded vehicle structure. The resulting loss of signal from the experimental launch vehicle led to the flight being aborted after first stage burnout.“