February 12, 1997 at 4:50 AM UTC
Uchinoura Space Center, Japan
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February 12, 1997 at 4:50 AM UTC
Status: Launch Successful · Live feed refreshes every 30 seconds
Mu Center
Uchinoura Space Center, Japan · 31.2510, 131.0821
HALCA (Highly Advanced Laboratory for Communication and Astronomy), a.k.a. VSOP (Very Large Baseline Interferometry Space Observatory Programme) or Muses-B, is the first astronomical satellite dedicated to Very-Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). It was launched on its maiden flight by ISAS's M-5 [KM-V1] launch vehicle from Kagoshima Space Center on 12 February 1997.
Mu · V
Height
30.8 m
Diameter
2.5 m
LEO capacity
1,800 kg
Successful launches
6
Uchinoura Space Center, Japan
The Uchinoura Space Center is a space launch facility in the Japanese town of Kimotsuki, Kagoshima Prefecture. All of Japan's scientific satellites were launched from Uchinoura prior to the M-V launch vehicles being decommissioned in 2006. It continues to be used for suborbital launches, stratospheric balloons and has also been used for the Epsilon orbital launch vehicle. Additionally, the center has antennas for communication with interplanetary space probes.
Open mapConnected program records
Same launch vehicle
September 22, 2006 at 9:36 PM UTC
February 21, 2006 at 9:28 PM UTC
July 10, 2005 at 3:30 AM UTC
May 9, 2003 at 4:29 AM UTC
February 10, 2000 at 1:30 AM UTC
July 3, 1998 at 6:12 PM UTC