Comparison of Asian national space programs to fuel future energy demands in Asia. All three main Asian space powers plan to send men to the Moon in the distant future and have already sent lunar probes. Japan was the first Asian country to launch a lunar probe. The Hiten (Japanese: "flying angel") spacecraft (known before the launch as MUSES-A), built by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science of Japan, was launched on 24 January 1990. In many ways, the mission did not go as was planned. Kaguya, the second Japanese lunar orbiter spacecraft, was launched on 14 September 2007. China launched its first lunar probe,
Explorer 15 between the spin axis and the sun direction to about 3° intervals. During launch the spacecraft failed to despin. The spin rate ranged from 72.9 to 73.2 rpm during the life of the spacecraft. The spin axis pointed at right ascension 80.97° and declination 20.9°. Explorer 15 Explorer 15, also called EPE-C, was an American satellite launched as part of Explorers program. Explorer 15 as launched on October 27, on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, United States, with Delta rocket. Explorer 15 was a spin-stabilized, solar-cell powered spacecraft instrumented to study the artificial radiation belt produced by the Starfish