JAPAN SPACE NET
ETS-7 Rendezvous Over Pacific
Tokyo - July 7, 1998 (UPI) - Two Japanese space satellites have successfully docked in Japan's first unmanned rendezvous and docking in orbit. The Japanese National Space Development Agency (NASDA) said Engineering Test Satellite-VII separated into two parts, called Orihime and Hikoboshi, 341 miles over New Zealand.

The two space probes made a rendezvous in orbit over the Pacific Ocean for 15 minutes, keeping a distance of 7 feet between them.

NASDA officials at the Tsukuba Space Center north of Tokyo said today the satellites then met again and made a rendezvous over Mexico using automatic and remote controls.

The link up follows the launching Saturday of Japan's first interplanetary spacecraft on a mission to search for signs of water under the surface of Mars. The mission could discover indications of whether life might once have existed on Mars.

-- Copyright 1998 by United Press International. All rights reserved. -

JSN Archive: ETS-7 and Japan's Space Robotics Program

  • ETS-7 abandons COMETS
  • ETS-7 Fears Ease
  • JEM Robot Tests Great Success
  • Japan Extends In-Orbit Repair Development
  • Delays Cause ETS7 Mission Plan Problems
  • ETS-7 - Orbital Rendezvous and Robotic Mission
  • Japan's latest Engineering Test Satellite (ETS-7)
  • ETS-7 NASDA Page
  • Complete JSN Archives
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