The Japan Aerospace eXploration Agency (JAXA) is Japan's aerospace agency. JAXA was formed October 1, 2003 by the merger of National Space Development Agency, the National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan and the Institute of Space and Aeronautical Science .

General information

During the 20th century, the three agencies mentioned above were established. The ISAS was responsible for space and planetary research, NAL was focused on aviation research, and NASDA developed rocket launchers satellites and the Japanese contribution to the International Space Station.

Research Centers and Offices

JAXA has research centers in many locations in Japan, and some offices overseas.

• Headquarters Office - Chofu-city, Tokyo
• Noshiro Testing Center (NTC) - Established in 1962. It carries out development and testing of rocket engines.
• Sanriku Balloon Center (SBC) - Balloons launched from this site since 1971.
• Kakuda Space Propulsion Center (KSPC) - Leads the development of rocket engines. Works mainly with development of liquid fuel engines.
• Sagamihara Campus - Development of experimental equipment for rockets and satellites. Also administrative buildings.
• Tsukuba Space Center (TKSC) - The center of Japan's space network. Involved in research and development of satellites and rockets, and tracking and controlling of satellites. Develops experimental equipment for the Japanese Experiment Module ("Kibo"). Also training of astronauts takes place here.

External links

• http://www.jaxa.jp/index_e.html