The Vehicle Evaluation Payload (VEP), renamed Myojo after launch, was a Japanese spacecraft that provided a ranging function as well as functions to measure the acceleration and deformation, in order to confirm the accuracy of the H-2 rocket orbit injection and understand the environment of the payload equipment. The Orbital Re-entry Experiment (OREX), renamed Ryusei after launch contributed to HOPE development by accumulating experience in designing and producing a re-entry vehicle and acquiring re-entry data which is difficult to acquire in ground experiments.
The H-II rocket was a Japanese satellite launch system which flew seven times between 1994 and 1999 with 5 successes. It was developed by NASDA in order to give Japan a capability to launch larger satellites in the 1990s. It was the first two stage liquid fuelled rocket Japan made using only domestic technologies.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. is a Japanese multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group. MHI's products include aerospace components, air conditioners, aircraft, automotive components, forklift trucks, hydraulic equipment, machine tools, missiles, power generation equipment, printing machines, ships and space launch vehicles. Through its defense-related activities, it is the world's 23rd-largest defense contractor measured by 2011 defense revenues and the largest based in Japan.
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