Hideo Itokawa at the University of Tokyo began a rocketry project in the early 1950s with rockets the size of a pencil that evolved into the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS).

Subodhana Wijeyeratne is a history professor at Purdue University.

Pressure in the H3 upper stage's liquid hydrogen tank dropped, causing reduced thrust on the first burn and a failure to ignite on the second burn.

JAXA was formed in 2003 by combining the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), the National Space Development Agency (NASDA), and the National Aerospace Laboratory to centralize civil space activities.

Hideo Itokawa designed military aircraft during World War II.

Under Hideo Itokawa's leadership, ISAS developed larger rockets, including the vehicle that placed Japan's first satellite, Ohsumi, into orbit in 1970.

NASDA developed the H-1 and H-2 rockets.

The H-2A conducted commercial launches for customers including Inmarsat and Telesat.

The failure of an H-2 launch in 1999 carrying a Japanese weather satellite precipitated reforms that culminated in the formation of JAXA.

The book claims the European Space Agency spent 70% of its budget on launch in the 1980s, while ESA's 1985 annual report indicates about 30% of its budget was spent on launch.

The National Space Development Agency (NASDA) was created to import American liquid-propulsion technology for larger launch vehicles.

Artemis II will launch on NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) carrying the Orion spacecraft and a crew of four astronauts on an approximately 10-day mission to orbit the Moon and return to Earth.

NASA’s collaborative tracking effort for Artemis II involves no exchange of funds and the cooperation will be provided free of charge.

NASA selected 34 participants to voluntarily track the Orion spacecraft for Artemis II, including the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Telespazio, Intuitive Machines, universities, amateur radio groups, and private citizens.

Integrasys’s tracking system won a sustainability award at a space fair in Dubai in May.

Integrasys and the University of Seville were selected by NASA to voluntarily track the Orion spacecraft during the crewed Artemis II mission around the Moon.

Integrasys arranged to install its 2.4-meter antenna at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería (ETSI) of the University of Seville, the campus where the Telecommunications degree is taught.

The antenna Integrasys will use to track the Artemis II mission has a diameter of 2.4 meters and cannot be installed on the roof of Integrasys’s Seville headquarters.

Integrasys’s contribution to the Artemis II tracking collaboration centers on the Orbisat platform developed by Integrasys’s subsidiary in Luxembourg.

Orbisat is a space-tracking system that provides trajectory traceability of spacecraft both at launch and during subsequent operations.

Participants selected from a request for proposals published in August 2025 will use their equipment to passively track radio signals transmitted by the Orion spacecraft during its mission.

Volunteers will send their tracking data to NASA for analysis to help the agency evaluate community tracking capabilities and identify ways to increase support for future lunar and Mars missions.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions opened a 55,000-square-foot manufacturing and payload integration facility in Princess Anne, Maryland on January 13, 2026.

The shift toward next-generation RF systems is driven by a move to Orbital Edge AI, which transitions space assets from delivering raw imagery to delivering autonomous, actionable answers.

The Princess Anne facility is located near NASA Wallops Flight Facility to optimize logistics for the $1.45 billion Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonics Test Bed (MACH-TB) 2.0 contract.

VisionWave is pursuing a multi-patent portfolio for its Argus technologies.

The second half of 2026 is expected to see the first integrated trials of AI-driven detection systems paired with hypersonic test flights.

VisionWave Holdings detailed the operational framework for its Argus space-enabled counter-UAS architecture on January 26, 2026.

Argus is a space-enabled counter-UAS architecture designed to address increasing range and sophistication of drone threats.

Integrated AI-driven RF systems enable adaptive electronic warfare capabilities that can prioritize threats, manage congested spectrum, and orchestrate soft-kill electronic jammers and hard-kill kinetic interceptors across wide operational areas.

Kratos is ramping up operations at its Princess Anne facility as part of support for hypersonic test activities.

The industrial base supporting high-speed defense requirements scaled in mid-January 2026 with activation of Kratos Defense’s newest manufacturing hub for hypersonic systems.

The Princess Anne facility is designed to support a national coalition that includes Firefly Aerospace to increase flight test cadence to one launch per week for the U.S. Navy and the Missile Defense Agency.

VisionWave’s Argus platform relocates the detection and classification kill chain to Low Earth Orbit using a constellation of satellites to provide persistent theater-scale surveillance.

Josef Aschbacher is the Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA).

CIRA (Centro Italiano Ricerche Aerospaziali) contributes to the Space Rider project by developing reentry competencies and conducting tests on thermal protection systems.

Upcoming episodes of COUNTDOWN – DALLO SPAZIO ALLA TERRA will feature Samantha Cristoforetti, Amalia Ercoli Finzi, Franco Malerba, ESA astronaut Anthea Comellini, and ESA astronaut John McFall.

Space Rider is a collaboration among ESA, Thales Alenia Space, and Avio.

COUNTDOWN – DALLO SPAZIO ALLA TERRA is a space and space-economy deep-dive program produced by Libero Produzioni in coproduction with Sky TG24.

ESA has a strategy to increase competitiveness in the launcher market, which is dominated by private operators, to ensure guaranteed access to space for Europe.

The Giotto mission reached and studied Halley’s Comet in 1986 under the European Space Agency.

The Giotto mission was named after the painter Giotto, who depicted the Star of Bethlehem in the Adoration of the Magi in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua.

Luca Parmitano promotes engaging young people in space and scientific communication to inspire long-term interest in the field.

The Bremen ministerial established priorities for European and Italian space activities including Earth observation, exploration and access to space, satellite navigation, and secure communications.

Luca Parmitano is an astronaut with the European Space Agency (ESA).

European Resilience from Space is a hybrid ESA program linking Earth observation with defense and security needs.

COUNTDOWN – DALLO SPAZIO ALLA TERRA returned to broadcast from 24 January and airs every Saturday at 18:10 and Sunday at 21:10.

COUNTDOWN – DALLO SPAZIO ALLA TERRA won the Premio Luigi Broglio 2025 for scientific outreach in the space sector.

The latest ESA ministerial resulted in member states agreeing that the space sector must be strengthened.

The European Space Agency (ESA) operates some of the world’s leading scientific space missions and is preparing for a new era in which space functions as vital infrastructure for society.