JAXA H-II TRMM & ETS 7
H-II
Status
Success
Date
27 NOV 1997
21:27
Launch Provider
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
Launch Pad
Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-1
Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
Mission Overview
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.
Rocket
H-II
Mission Type
Earth Science
Orbit
Low Earth Orbit
Stages
2
Livestream
Not availableRocket Details
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.
Height
49 m
Diameter
4 m
Launch Mass
260 T