Japan Aerospace Exploration AgencyH-IIA 204Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-1, Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
Kiku-8
Launched
December 18, 2006
Image: JAXA
Summary
Kiku-8 launched on a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency H-IIA 204 from Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-1, Tanegashima Space Center, Japan on December 18, 2006. It was Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's 21st launch, 6th this year and humanity's 4,813th orbital launch attempt. It was the 1st H-IIA 204 flight. The payload was bound for Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO). Kiku-8, one of 2 catalogued objects, reached a 260 × 35,999 km orbit inclined 28.5°. 2 objects from this launch are catalogued, one of them a payload.
- Watch
- No webcast on record.
- Booster
- No booster details on record.
- Mission
- Communications · Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO)
- Milestone
- 1st H-IIA 204 flightJapan Aerospace Exploration Agency's 21st launch6th this yearhumanity's 4,813th orbital launch attempt63rd orbital launch attempt this year
Flight preview
Orbit: as tracked
Kiku-8 · NORAD 29656 · 2006-059 · Space-Track · tracking 1 of 2 objects
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- OBJECT A
- Object ID
- 2006-059A
- Epoch
- 2006-12-18 12:22:30 UTC
- Mean motion
- 2.26387655 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.7293661
- Inclination
- 28.4946°
- Ascending node
- 220.1571°
- Arg. of perigee
- 179.1037°
- Mean anomaly
- 183.8549°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 1
- B*
- 0.0001
Perigee, apogee and period are Kepler figures from the catalogued mean elements, not a propagated state. Published orbit: GTO. Ascent drawn from padside's representative profile.
Catalogued objects
2 catalogued: 1 payload, 1 rocket stage; 2 still in orbit
- Kiku-8 · NORAD 29656 · in orbit
H-2A F11 Stage 2 · in orbit
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
ETS-VIII (Engineering Test Satellite) is to be launched in 2006, with the main purpose of dealing with the increasing demand for digital communications, such as mobile phones and other mobile devices. The satellite, with a gross weight of around three tons and a diameter of 40 meters, has two Large Deployable Antenna Reflectors (LDAR) and two Solar Array paddles. One LDAR, about the size of a tennis court, is one of the world's largest geostationary satellites. Its size will enable direct communications with a geostationary satellite that covers all of Japan, making mobile communications more reliable. Currently under development are Large Deployable Antenna Reflectors with metal-mesh, high-power transponders, and on-board processors. The technologies used in the development of these LDARs will be applicable to other large space structures. A subscale test of the LDARs was flown as the LDREX experiment.
Pad
Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-1, Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
18th launch from Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-1, 4th this year · 42nd from Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
57 launches from this pad · 99 from Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
98 days after the previous launch from this pad
All launches from Tanegashima Space Center, JapanOpen in maps
Questions
When did Kiku-8 launch?
Kiku-8 launched on December 18, 2006. The time is known to the hour, not the minute.
Where can I watch Kiku-8?
No webcast is on record for this launch.
What rocket launched Kiku-8?
H-IIA 204, flown by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. H-IIA 204 spec sheet
Where did Kiku-8 launch from?
Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-1, Tanegashima Space Center, Japan.
What orbit did Kiku-8 reach?
Kiku-8, one of 2 catalogued objects, reached a 260 × 35,999 km orbit inclined 28.5°.
How many satellites did Kiku-8 launch?
1 payload from this launch is catalogued, still in orbit (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).