JAXA | Tanegashima Space Center

JAXA invites the public to visit our cutting edge R&D space facility to help understand our past, present and future programs and challenges. Exhibition locations in the center are categorized according to programs such as launch vehicles and space environment utilization. You can feel and touch the actual space R&D environment, including a life-size launch vehicle mock-up.
For more information about this field center, please click here.

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January 6, 2010 Updated

Parent-child space class on Tokunoshima island

On Dec. 12, 2009, a space class that both parents and children could participate in was held on Tokunoshima island, one of the Amami islands in Kagoshima Prefecture.
In Amagi-cho, Tokunoshima, part of the fairing of the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 13 drifted ashore on July 7, 2008. Since then, residents’ interest in space development has been rising, and that resulted in holding a space class there in order to further deepen their understanding of space development.
Some 306 people participated in the class and enjoyed various activities including making and launching plastic bottle rockets, commemorative photo shooting wearing a replica of an orange suit that is worn by the Space Shuttle crew, watching a 3D movie of the moon surface taken by KAGUYA, and listening to a lecture titled “New challenges to space.”
All attendees, both adults and children, seemed to enjoy the event very much, probably because this was the first time for us to hold a space class on Tokunoshima.

Services

* Free admission

Space Museum

Open: 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Closed: Every Monday. Closed Tuesdays following long weekends (substitute holidays) and Dec. 29 to Jan. 1.
The center is occasionally closed owing to rocket launches.

Using full-scale models and games, the exhibits cover various aspects of space development, such as rocket science, satellites, international space-station projects, terrestrial observation, and astronomy :

1. Full-scale model of the Japanese Experiment Module "Kibo"

Enter and experience "Kibo," which is a part of the International Space Station (ISS) project and is now in construction in space with the cooperation of 15 countries. Simulations of experiments in space can be performed on computers.

2. Space Information Center

Search for information on space development and the cosmos using computers.

3. Rocket Launch Theater

Experience the moment of lift-off of JAXA's main rocket, the H-IIA, on a large screen with full audio.

4. Museum Shop

We sell JAXA goods and space-related products. They are suitable for souvenirs.

Tours (Guide tours/Advance booking)

A staff guide will take you around the various site seeing spots at the Tanegashima Space Center, the largest rocket launch site in Japan. These include launch-related facilities and the H-II Launch Vehicle, which was designated as "important historical material on industrial technology (Future Engineering Heritage)" by the National Museum of Nature and Science.

Please look at "TOURS" for details.

Observation Points

The TNSC is open to the public except when launch and engine tests are carried out. There are observation points for full viewing of launches.

Rocket Hill Observatory

Views of the Yoshinobu Launch Complex, and the Osaki Launch Complex can be enjoyed from this point. Parking is available

Takesaki Observation Stand

This is the press gallery for media personnel on the day of a launch.

Observation Point of Kamori-no-mine

m this point, there are fantastic views of Cape Kadokura and Yakushima Island far in the distance, as well as the H-IIA Launch Complex and the Takesaki Observation stand. "Kamori" means "Are you home?" in the Tanegashima dialect.

Observation Points Map
No entry is allowed on launch days.

Launching Observation Points

Launches can be viewed from anywhere beyond a radius of three kilometers from the rocket. The following locations are recommended observation points, where the countdown to liftoff can even be heard. Reservations are not necessary, but these areas are expected to be crowded on the day of a launch.
Launching Observation Points Map