# Okina

> Japanese space probe

**Wikidata**: [Q28473131](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q28473131)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/okina

## Summary
Okina is a Japanese unmanned space probe that served as a relay satellite for the SELENE lunar mission. It was launched from Tanegashima on 2007-09-14 aboard an H-IIA launch vehicle and is identified by COSPAR ID 2007-039B and NAIF ID -500.

## Key Facts
- Okina is an instance of a space probe (an unmanned robotic spacecraft that operates beyond Earth orbit).  
- Okina is part of the SELENE mission (Japanese lunar mission).  
- Launch date: 2007-09-14.  
- Launch site (start point): Tanegashima.  
- Launch vehicle: H-IIA (a Japanese expendable medium-lift launch vehicle).  
- COSPAR ID: 2007-039B.  
- NSSDCA ID: 2007-039B.  
- NAIF ID: -500.  
- SCN (spacecraft catalog number): 32055.  
- Aliases: Rstar; SELENE Rstar; RSAT; SELENE Relay Satellite.  
- Country of origin: Japan.  
- Encyclopædia Britannica Online entry identifier: topic/Okina-Japanese-spacecraft (entry title: Okina).

## FAQs
### Q: What is Okina?
A: Okina is a Japanese unmanned space probe that functioned as a relay satellite for the SELENE lunar mission.

### Q: When and where was Okina launched?
A: Okina was launched on 2007-09-14 from Tanegashima.

### Q: What launch vehicle carried Okina?
A: Okina was launched aboard an H-IIA, a Japanese expendable medium-lift launch vehicle.

### Q: How is Okina identified in spacecraft catalogs?
A: Okina's COSPAR and NSSDCA ID is 2007-039B, its NAIF ID is -500, and its spacecraft catalog number (SCN) is 32055.

## Why It Matters
Okina is significant as a component of Japan’s SELENE lunar mission infrastructure, carrying designations and roles that supported lunar exploration activities. As a relay satellite (reflected in its aliases such as SELENE Relay Satellite and RSAT), Okina provided communications and data relay capability for the broader SELENE spacecraft complex. Its 2007 launch aboard the H-IIA launcher from Tanegashima demonstrates Japan’s operational capability to place mission-specific probes into lunar-transfer trajectories. The probe’s catalog and registry identifiers (COSPAR 2007-039B, NSSDCA 2007-039B, NAIF ID -500, SCN 32055) make it a trackable element in international spacecraft records and mission archives. For researchers, engineers, and historians, Okina is a concrete example of an unmanned robotic spacecraft used in coordinated multi-spacecraft lunar missions and of Japan’s role in modern lunar exploration.

## Notable For
- Being the relay satellite component of the SELENE lunar mission (aliases: SELENE Relay Satellite, RSAT, SELENE Rstar).  
- Launch on 2007-09-14 from Tanegashima aboard the H-IIA launch vehicle.  
- Official identifiers: COSPAR/NSSDCA 2007-039B and NAIF ID -500.  
- Spacecraft catalog number (SCN) 32055.  
- Multiple common aliases (Rstar, SELENE Rstar, RSAT) used in mission documentation.

## Body

### Overview
- Name: Okina.  
- Instance of: space probe (unmanned robotic spacecraft operating beyond Earth orbit).  
- Country of origin: Japan.  
- Part of: SELENE (Japanese lunar mission).

### Identifiers
- COSPAR ID: 2007-039B.  
- NSSDCA ID: 2007-039B.  
- NAIF ID: -500.  
- SCN: 32055.  
- Encyclopædia Britannica Online identifier: topic/Okina-Japanese-spacecraft (entry title: Okina).  
- Aliases: Rstar; SELENE Rstar; RSAT; SELENE Relay Satellite.

### Launch
- Launch date: 2007-09-14.  
- Launch site (start point): Tanegashima.  
- Launch vehicle: H-IIA (Japanese expendable medium-lift launch vehicle).

### Role and mission association
- Okina is listed as part of the SELENE mission.  
- Aliases indicate a relay role for the SELENE mission (SELENE Relay Satellite, RSAT, SELENE Rstar).

### Classification and context
- Classified as a space probe, consistent with the class description: an unmanned robotic spacecraft that does not orbit Earth but explores further into outer space.  
- Associated launch vehicle class: H-IIA, a Japanese expendable medium-lift launch vehicle.

### Naming and alternate designations
- Common alternate names include Rstar, SELENE Rstar, RSAT, and SELENE Relay Satellite, reflecting its role within the SELENE mission architecture.

## References

1. Jonathan's Space Report
2. [Source](https://naif.jpl.nasa.gov/pub/naif/toolkit_docs/C/req/naif_ids.html)