Hokkaido venture to launch privately developed rocket on July 29

Interstellar Technologies Inc., a space venture based in Hokkaido, said Thursday it will launch a small-sized rocket developed independently without government funding from the northern main island on July 29.The 10-meter-long sounding rocket, MOMO, will be launched from a test site in the town of Taiki and is designed to be the first rocket developed solely by a private Japanese business to reach outer space, the company told reporters in Tokyo.If successful, the rocket will fly at an altitude of 100 kilometers -- beyond the boundary between the Earth's atmosphere and outer space -- about …READ FULL ARTICLE