, or ISAS, is a Japanese national research organization of

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline, James Keeler, said, astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the ...

using

rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

astronomical Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest include ...

satellites and interplanetary probes which played a major role in Japan's space development. Established as part of the

University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

in 1964, the institute spun off from the university to come under direct purview of the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

. Since 2003, it is a division of

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency The is the Japanese national Aeronautics, air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satell ...

(JAXA).

History

The ISAS originated as part of the Institute of Industrial Science of the

, where Hideo Itokawa experimented with miniature

solid-fuel rocket A solid-propellant rocket or solid rocket is a rocket with a rocket engine that uses Rocket propellant#Solid chemical propellants, solid propellants (fuel/oxidizer). The earliest rockets were solid-fuel rockets powered by gunpowder. The incepti ...

s ( Pencil Rocket and ) in the 1950s. This experimentation eventually led to the development of the Κ (''Kappa'')

sounding rocket A sounding rocket or rocketsonde, sometimes called a research rocket or a suborbital rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The rockets are often ...

, which was used for observations during the

International Geophysical Year The International Geophysical Year (IGY; ), also referred to as the third International Polar Year, was an international scientific project that lasted from 1 July 1957 to 31 December 1958. It marked the end of a long period during the Cold War w ...

(IGY). By 1960, the Κ-8 rocket had reached an altitude of 200 km. In 1964, the rocket group and the ''Institute of Aeronautics'', along with scientific ballooning team, were merged to form within the University of Tokyo. The rocket evolved into the L (''Lambda'') series, and, in 1970, L-4S-5 was launched as Japan's first artificial satellite Ohsumi. Although ''Lambda'' rockets were only sounding rockets, the next generation of M (''Mu'') rockets was intended to be satellite launch vehicles from the start. Beginning in 1971, ISAS launched a series of scientific satellites to observe the

ionosphere The ionosphere () is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere of Earth, from about to above sea level, a region that includes the thermosphere and parts of the mesosphere and exosphere. The ionosphere is ionized by solar radiation. It plays ...

and

magnetosphere In astronomy and planetary science, a magnetosphere is a region of space surrounding an astronomical object in which charged particles are affected by that object's magnetic field. It is created by a celestial body with an active interior Dynamo ...

. Since the launch of

Hakucho Hakucho (also known as CORSA-b before launch; CORSA stands for Cosmic Radiation Satellite) was Japan's first X-ray astronomy satellite, developed by the Institute of Space and Aeronautical Science (then a division of the University of Tokyo ...

in 1979, ISAS has had

X-ray astronomy X-ray astronomy is an observational branch of astronomy which deals with the study of X-ray observation and detection from astronomical objects. X-radiation is absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere, so instruments to detect X-rays must be taken to ...

satellites consecutively in orbit, until it was briefly terminated by the launch failure of ASTRO-E. In 1981, as a part of university system reform, and for the mission expansion, ISAS was spun out from University of Tokyo as an inter-university national research organization, ''Institute of Space and Astronautical Science''. ISAS was responsible for launching Japan's first interplanetary probes, Sakigake and Suisei, to

Halley's Comet Halley's Comet is the only known List of periodic comets, short-period comet that is consistently visible to the naked eye from Earth, appearing every 72–80 years, though with the majority of recorded apparitions (25 of 30) occurring after ...

in 1985. It also launched Hiten, Japan's first lunar probe, in 1990. The Nozomi probe was launched in 1998 in an attempt to orbit Mars, but the spacecraft suffered system failures and was unable to enter orbit. In 2003, ISAS launched the Hayabusa spacecraft, the first asteroid sample return mission in the world. Later in 2003, three national aerospace organizations including ISAS were merged to form

(JAXA). The English name ''Institute of Space and Astronautical Science'' is still used, although the Japanese name was changed to 宇宙科学研究本部 (literally, ''Space Science Research Division'', whereas the previous name's literal translation was ''Space Science Laboratory''). In 2010, the name was changed back to the previous . Under JAXA, ISAS continues to be responsible for space-based astronomy, and lunar and planetary exploration missions.

List of spacecraft by ISAS

Launch failures, cancelled projects, proposals etc. are not listed.

Before establishment of JAXA

After establishment of JAXA

Future missions

References

External links

Official website

From Pencil to M-V — History of Rocket Development
- Official JAXA YouTube Channel (in Japanese) {{authority control JAXA Aerospace Research institutes in Japan Aerospace research institutes Scientific organizations established in 1981 1981 establishments in Japan Sagamihara University of Tokyo