The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) is an international satellite mission to provide next-generation observations of rain and snow worldwide every three hours. NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will launch a "Core" satellite carrying advanced instruments that will set a new standard for precipitation measurements from space.
NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, Expedition 32 flight engineer, works in the newly attached Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV-3) docked to the International Space Station's Harmony node. NASA astronaut Joe Acaba, flight engineer, is visible in the background.
While aquariums provide a relaxing pastime for humans on Earth, recreation is not the goal behind the new Aquatic Habitat, or AQH, aboard the International Space Station. Instead, researchers will use this unique facility to look at how microgravity impacts marine life.
Expedition 32 Flight Engineer Aki Hoshide used the International Space Station's Canadarm2 robotic arm to install the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) H-II Transfer Vehicle, or HTV-3, to its docking port on the Earth-facing side of the Harmony node at 10:34 a.m. EDT Friday.
The Japanese HTV-3 known as KOUNOTORI 3 resupply spacecraft is on its way to the International Space Station following its successful launch from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan.
At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Expedition 32/33 Soyuz Commander Yuri Malenchenko, NASA Flight Engineer Suni Williams and Flight Engineer Aki Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency participated in a variety of activities in preparation for their launch to the International Space Station Saturday night.
SDS-4: End of Critical Phase Completed
"The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) would like to announce that the Small Demonstration Satellite-4 (SDS-4) completed its critical phase operations and moved to the initial phase. The SDS-4 was launched by the H-IIA F21 at 1:39 a.m. on May 18, 2012 (Japan Standard Time) as a secondary payload with the Global Change Observation Satellite 1st - Water "SHIZUKU" (GCOM-1.)"
While a recent agreement signed between Canada's and Japan's space agencies is an extension of previous work, a JAXA vice-president noted at the National Space Symposium that the two countries could collaborate on launch opportunities as a result of the memorandum of understanding (MOU).
Amid the talk of international collaboration and co-operation at a panel of space leaders, NASA deputy administrator Lori Garver found herself answering questions about the cancellation of NASA's commitment to ExoMars, and the lack of launch capability for astronauts on American soil.
ESA: An agreement was signed by ESA and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) for cooperation on Astro-H, an important mission that will provide a unique opportunity for probing extreme phenomena in the Universe. Astro-H will study astrophysical objects including black holes and neutron stars, explore the non-thermal Universe, and investigate the large-scale structure of the Universe and its evolution.
International Space Station Flight Engineer Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency discussed his life aboard the orbiting laboratory with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama during an in-flight event on Jan. 7.
Space shuttle Endeavour and its seven-member crew launched at 6:03 p.m. EDT Wednesday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.