Sakigake Program

JAXA’s predecessor ISAS operated the Sakigake Program, Japan’s first interplanetary test mission, launched on 8 January 1985 to develop deep-space navigation, communications, attitude control, and solar-orbit operations. Sakigake observed the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field, contributed to the international Halley’s-comet campaign, and continued plasma-wave observations until operations ended on 7 January 1999.

Identity

Aliases: SakigakeMS-T5Sakigake MissionHalley’s Comet Test Explorer
Domains: spaceflight
Name: Sakigake Program
Status: completed
Types: explorationscienceresearchoperations

Details

Description: JAXA’s predecessor ISAS operated the Sakigake Program, Japan’s first interplanetary test mission, launched on 8 January 1985 to develop deep-space navigation, communications, attitude control, and solar-orbit operations. Sakigake observed the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field, contributed to the international Halley’s-comet campaign, and continued plasma-wave observations until operations ended on 7 January 1999.
End Date: 1999-01-07
Leads
Participants: -
Start Date: 1985-01-08

Assets & Meta

Creation Time: August 13, 2026 at 14:51:51 UTC
Updated Time: August 13, 2026 at 14:51:51 UTC

Other

Official Urls: https://www.isas.jaxa.jp/en/missions/spacecraft/past/sakigake.htmlhttps://darts.isas.jaxa.jp/en/missions/sakigake/https://www.isas.jaxa.jp/en/missions/launch_vehicles/m-3s2.html