JAXAEngineering Test SatelliteETS-VIII (Kiku 8) was the eighth technology test satellite in a series which started with ETS-1 in 1975 by NASDA. It was launched with the H-2A on December 18, 2006. ETS-VIII was developed by JAXA in cooperation with NICT and NTT. The aim of ETS-VIII was to enable satellite communications with small terminals. Unlike the Iridium satellites for mobile communication, ETS-VIII was positioned at GEO.
However to fulfill the task, it was essential that the satellite carried two very large antennas. It was the first use of the 204 configuration (four strap-on boosters) of the H-IIA launch vehicle.
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).
This article about one or more spacecraft of Japan is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.