Tanegashima Space Center
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The Tanegashima Space Center (TNSC) is one of Japan's space development facilities. It is located on Tanegashima Island, 115 km south of Kyūshū. It was established in 1969 when the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) was formed. It is now run by JAXA.
The activities that take place at TNSC include assembly, testing, launching and tracking of satellites, as well as rocket engine firing tests. It is Japan's largest space development center.
[edit] Facilities
There are several facilities at the TNSC. The two launch complexes are the Yoshinobu and the Osaki. Yoshinobu has two launch pads; one for lighter spacecraft (up to 2 tons for geostationary orbit), and the other for heavier spacecraft (2-4 tons). One of the firing test facilities is the Yoshinobu Firing Test Stand, where testing of the H-IIA first stage engine LE-7A takes place. There are also buildings for assembly of spacecraft, and for radar and optical tracking of launched spacecraft.
