Jan 12 1985
From The Space Library
Japan's first deep-space probe had escaped earth's gravity on its way to a rendezvous with Halley’s Comet early in 1986, the Washington Post reported. A domestically developed rocket had launched Sakigake (Pioneer) January 8 from the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science's launch site at Uchinoura in southwestern Japan.
Dr. Tamiya Nomura, director of the institute's office of project coordination, said the probe was 580,000 miles from earth the morning of January 12 and was "entering a sphere where the sun's gravity is dominant." (W Post, Jan 12/ 85, A17)
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