Abstract
In August 2005 Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully launched the Optical Inter-orbit Communications Engineering Test Satellite (OICETS) by the Dnepr launch vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome to demonstrate innovative technologies of laser-based optical inter-orbit communications between OICETS and European Space Agency’s (ESA) Advanced Relay and Technology Mission Satellite (ARTEMIS). The Dnepr launch vehicle is the rocket which is converted from the SS-18 liquid-fuelled Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) and operated together with the launch facility located on the Baikonur Cosmodrome by ISC Kosmotras. This was a challenging task because JAXA had to modify OICETS, which had already been manufactured and tested to be launched by Japanese J-1 rocket, to accommodate to the new launch vehicle interface and the change of orbit. JAXA also had to plan the launch campaign at the unfamiliar launch site. All of these works were completed in 13 months, thanks to the dedicated efforts of all the participants. In this paper, experiences gained from coordination works of the launch vehicle interface and the launch campaign in Baikonur are presented.
