#JAXA

All articles tagged with "JAXA"

JAXA Launches OrigamiSat-2, a Folded CubeSat That Expands to 25 Times Its Stowed Size

Japan has launched a 10-centimeter CubeSat with a deployable reflectarray antenna that unfolds in orbit to roughly 25 times its folded size, underscoring how origami-inspired engineering keeps reshaping small-spacecraft

Key Takeaways

OrigamiSat-2 launched April 23 on JAXA’s Kakushin Rising mission.
The 10-centimeter CubeSat carries a reflectarray antenna that expands to about 25 times its folded size.

DT Editorial Team·Apr 26, 2026·via newatlas.com

Rocket Lab Sends JAXA CubeSats to Orbit as Japan Expands Small-Satellite Testing

Rocket Lab has launched eight Japanese cubeSats for JAXA, extending a stopgap partnership that emerged after setbacks to Japan’s Epsilon rocket program and giving new space technologies a path to orbit.

Key Takeaways

Rocket Lab launched eight JAXA-sponsored cubeSats into a 540-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit.
The payloads are testing technologies including a multispectral camera, earthquake-related sensors, and an origami-style antenna.

DT Editorial Team·Apr 25, 2026·via spacenews.com

JAXA Sets Its Sights on Pristine Comet Samples in a New Push to Study the Early Solar System

Japan’s space agency is planning a mission aimed at returning untouched material from a comet, extending a small-body exploration record already built by the Hayabusa and Hayabusa2 missions

Key Takeaways

JAXA is planning a mission to return pristine samples from a comet.
The project builds on JAXA’s earlier small-body successes with Hayabusa and Hayabusa2.

DT Editorial Team·Apr 13, 2026·via phys.org

NASA's XRISM Spacecraft Peers Into the 'Eye of the Storm' Around Supermassive Black Holes

The joint NASA-JAXA X-ray mission XRISM has revealed the most violent turbulence ever detected in a galaxy cluster, centered on the supermassive black hole M87*. The spacecraft's unprecedented ability to measure gas velocities has transformed our understanding of how black holes shape their cosmic surroundings.

DT Editorial Team·Feb 21, 2026·7 min read·via space.com