Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 August 2017
There are three institutes in Japan that are equipped with VLBI facilities. Of these, Nobeyama Radio Observatory started VLBI experiments with astrophysical and astrometric interests. The Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, the Nobeyama Radio Observatory, and the Radio Research Laboratory collaborated with JPL and other institutions for this first space-VLBI test experiment, generating fringes on ground-TDRSS satellite baselines at S band. A working group formed by scientists of the above three Japanese institutes proposed to ISAS to launch a space-VLBI satellite. The project, called VSOP, for VLBI Space Observatory Program, is described here.