Japan Station: the Japanese Experiment Module (Kibo) was added to the station during Space Shuttle assembly flights in 2008. The space probe "Akatsuki" was launched May 20, 2010, and achieved orbit around Venus on December 9, 2015. Japan's plans in space exploration include: developing the "Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter" to be launched in 2018; and building a moon base by 2030. On September 14, 2007, it launched lunar explorer SELENE (Selenological and Engineering Explorer) on a H-IIA (Model H2A2022) carrier rocket from Tanegashima Space Center. SELENE is also known as Kaguya, after the lunar princess of "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter".
Orbital Sciences Corporation program - providing an entry into the fast-growing Geosynchronous (GEO) communications satellite market. In the early 2000s, Orbital continued expanding its missile defense systems business with a $900 million award to develop, build, test and support interceptor booster vehicles. In 2006 Orbital conducted its 500th mission since the company’s founding with a diverse portfolio of products that included satellites, launch vehicles, and missile defense systems. In 2007, the first interplanetary spacecraft built by Orbital, Dawn was launched on an eight-year, three-billion-mile journey to the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. A major milestone in the company's history was in