Japanese space program

<p>The Japanese space program  originated in the mid-1950s as a research group led by <a href="/facts/Hideo_Itokawa/BhPQsMbN">Hideo Itokawa</a> at the <a href="/facts/University_of_Tokyo/Td0xnQDF">University of Tokyo</a>. The size of the <a href="/facts/Rocket/b6j4keIl">rockets</a> produced gradually increased from under 30 cm (12 in) at the start of the project, to over 15 m (49 ft) by the mid-1960s. The aim of the original research project was to launch a man-made <a href="/facts/Satellite/PTX8c68t">satellite</a>.
</p><p>By the 1960s, two organizations, the <a href="/facts/Institute_of_Space_and_Astronautical_Science/qYEDPVWN">Institute of Space and Astronautical Science</a> (ISAS) and the <a href="/facts/National_Space_Development_Agency_of_Japan/JzaLf6bE">National Space Development Agency of Japan</a> (NASDA), were developing their own rockets. After experiencing numerous failures in the 1990s and 2000s, ISAS and NASDA merged — along with the <a href="/facts/National_Aerospace_Laboratory_of_Japan/3UXqtcx3">National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan</a> (NAL) — to form the unified <a href="/facts/Japan_Aerospace_Exploration_Agency/ofUpflgf">Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency</a> (JAXA) in 2003. In recent years, Japanese space policy has been shaped by the US-Japan alliance and intensifying great power competition.
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Japanese space program open-in-new

Japanese space program