Tanegashima Space Senter
Space Science Technology Museum

• Location : Kukinaga Minamitane Kumake Kagoshima Japan.
• Opening : 09:30-17:30
• Closing : Monday(Except national holiday, No closing in August), 29.Dec, to 1st.Jan.
• Admission charges : free.
• Web site : http://fanfun.jaxa.jp/visit/tanegashima/
• Tanegashima Space Senter Web site : http://www.jaxa.jp/about/centers/tnsc/index_j.html

'Tanegashima' : it is a tropical island for only 40 minutes flight from Kagoshima airport. And it was the first place the gun was imported in Japan. Then the Japanese largest launch facility is operated here.
And there are full of beautiful nature, isolated clear beach, full of stars and Milky Way in the night, fresh fish dishes. It is a nice place to spend your vacation.
Tanegashima Space Senter(TNSC) located south of the Tanegashima island widely. H-IIA launch vehicles are launched here. You can see launch facilitys and assemble buildings from road along the coast. "Rocket hill viewing point","Space Science Technology Museum","RCC","Takesaki launch complex" are opend to public. You can visit there without any inhibition. Above Osaki launch complex panorama photo was taken form Rocket hill viewing point. H-IIA will be launched from this launch complex.

Right is full view of the Space Science Technology Museum. Beautiful beach and park are in fromt of them. And huge real size H-IIA rocket model is placed here. The building has two storys. You'll spend about two hours if you wach sedulously. Japanese rocket history, from N-I to H-IIA is a main exhibition. You can see LE-3 engine of N-I booster , LE-7 engine of H-IIA booster and some of Japanese satellites, rocket bodys. There are movies, scale models to demonstrate the fact that to build and launch H-IIA. And PC games like Rocket building and launch. you can study about rockets and satellites.

Mr.Mouri : the first astronaut in Japan, makes some quiz abut Space at ISS and JEM('hope') exhibition corner. And at World's Space Development corner some infomation about Apollo project are displayed.
There is a small Gift shop corner and cafe. But assortment is not quite enough. I bought H-IIA T-shirt.
"Takesaki launch complex" was made for small rockets. And now, there is not used normally. There are only buildings closing doors and windows. But you can see panorama view of "Osaki launch complex" behind the beautiful seashore from here.
This is a small museum, but from children to adult, all ages can enjoy here.