Japan's M-V rocket launched the Hayabusa spacecraft, originally named MUSES-C, from Uchinoura on a sample-return mission to asteroid Itokawa. Hayabusa became the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid and return samples to Earth, in 2010.
- Outcome
- Success
- Orbit
- Asteroid
- Payload to orbit
- 511 kg
- Flight
- 4th
- of 7 M-V flights
- Date and time
- 9 May 2003, 04:29 UTC
- Rocket
- M-V
- Builder
- IHI
- Launch site
- Mu Center, Uchinoura Space Center, Japan
- Payload
- Astrophysics
- International designator
- 2003-019
- Launches in 2003
- 19th of 63
See it in orbit
Space Atlas shows the satellites and rocket stages from this launch in 3D.
View satellites in Space Atlas