Ariane signed a contract with Japan’s National Space Development
Agency (NASDA) to launch the Large Deployable Reflector Experiment
(LDREX) on an
Ariane 5. The LDREX will be mounted on an Ariane 5 Structure
for Auxiliary Payloads (ASAP-5), built by Matra Marconi Space. The LDREX
experiment is a half-scale version of a
deployable antenna for Japan's future ETS-8 technological
satellite. The deployment is to be recorded by a camera installed
on the ASAP.
LDREX is scheduled for launch later
this year, though an exact date has not been set. This experiment
was originally scheduled to fly on the first flight of H2A, but
with that system delayed, it was necessary to find another launch.
The full-sized version of this new antenna is scheduled to be used
on NASDA's Engineering Test Satellite (ETS-8) targeted for launch
in 2003. 
More information:
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