It has been announced that Japan will start a series of space exploration experiments using an unmanned vehicle from a base in Kiribati.
The National Space Development Agency of Japan and the National Aerospace Laboratory say the tests will be carried out on Christmas island from early October until mid-November.
The four-meter test vehicle with wings and power by jet engines is expected to fly five-thousand meters high and then land on a runway with the help of global positioning system satellites.
The plan is to develop a reusable space-going vehicle similar to the US space shuttle.
Christmas island is in the east of Kiribati and was used by Britain to test nuclear weapons.
