Tanegashima Space Center

Tanegashima is the easternmost of the Osumi Islands, just south of the major island of Kyushu.
Global Precipitation Measurement satellite pre-launch, 2014
Osaki Launch Complex

The Tanegashima Space Center (種子島宇宙センター, Tanegashima Uchū Sentā) (TNSC) is a Japanese space development facility. It is located on Tanegashima, an island located approximately 40 km south of Kyushu. It was established in 1969 when the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) was formed, and is now run by JAXA.

The activities that take place at TNSC include assembly, testing, launching, and tracking satellites, as well as rocket engine firing tests. It is Japan's largest space development center.

Facilities

There are several facilities at the TNSC. Orbital launches of the H-II rockets took place from the Yoshinobu Launch Complex. Yoshinobu has two launch pads. 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.

The Osaki Launch Complex was retired in 1992. It was used for N-I, N-II, and H-I launches and development.

In fiction

In Empire Earth: The Art of Conquest, in the Asian Campaign, the Tanegashima Space Center is an important location, pivotal in the story to the United Federation of Asian Republics reaching Mars before the Americans or Europeans. The spaceport was completely destroyed in a nuclear bombing raid by Novaya Russia, but was rebuilt by the UFAR at the request of their ally, Japan.

Episode 2 of the Japanese animated film 5 Centimeters Per Second features a rocket launch from Tanegashima Space Center.

In the Robotics;Notes visual novel, Tanegashima Space Center is one of the major settings found in the game. It is also featured in the anime.

In Captain Earth, Tanegashima Space Center is now controlled by Globe and serves as one of their bases.

In the Japanese animated television series Aldnoah.Zero, Tanegashima is the crash landing site of some Martian technology.

In the "Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire" games, along with their remakes, In a part of Mossdeep City, there is a space center called "Mossdeep Space center", which is modeled after this.

In season 2, episode 19 of the Japanese animated television series Assassination Classroom, the students of class 3-E of Kunugigaoka Junior High School infiltrate a space center that is based on Tanegashima Space Center.

In the Japanese animated series Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars, Tanegashima figures very prominently in the latter episodes.

See also

References

    Coordinates: 30°24′00″N 130°58′12″E / 30.40000°N 130.97000°E / 30.40000; 130.97000

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