SS-520

S-Series is a fleet of sounding rockets funded by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) that have been in service since the late 1960s. Manufactured by IHI Aerospace and operated by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS). The nomenclature of the S-Series rockets is the number of "S" indicates the number of stages, and the following number details the diameter of the craft in millimeters. For example the S-310 is a single stage rocket with a diameter of 310 mm.

On January 14, 2017 the SS-520-4 rocket attempted to become the lightest and smallest launch vehicle to send a payload to orbit, but the rocket failed to reach orbit.

A retired single stage Japanese sounding rocket. The S-160 has a maximum flight altitude of 80 kilometers, a launch mass of 100 kg, a diameter of 160 mm and a length of 4 meters. It was launched 13 times between 1965 and 1972.

A retired single-stage sounding rocket made by JAXA and the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) to study the ionospheric, launched from Japan's Antarctic base. The first S-210 launch took place in 1966, and was retired in 1982. The first two launches of the full sized versions in took place between 1966–1967: they were both failures, with the motor case burning through. After redesign of the case and improved quality control the subsequent launch in August 1969 was successful. Following further successful tests in Japan in 1970–1971, the rocket was cleared for intensive use at the Japanese Antarctic base at Syowa in 1972–1978.

It was built to replace the smaller S-160 rocket which was a proof-of-concept design rocket.

The S-310 is an active single-stage sounding rocket. Like its predecessor the S-210 it was developed for observations in Antarctica. The rocket is 310 mm in diameter, and can reach an altitude of 150 km. The first flight of S-310 in January 1975 was successful, and it has been launched at Kagoshima Space Center at Uchinoura, Showa Station in Antarctica and Andøya in Sweden. As of January 1, 2017 the S-310 has completed 52 sub-orbital launches, with its most recent launch occurring on August 4, 2014.

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