The World - News from Jan. 9, 1985

Japan launched its first deep space probe, a test spacecraft designed to go into solar orbit near Halley’s Comet as it swings by in February, 1986, on its 76-year orbit of the sun. The launch is part of a multinational project also involving the United States, the Soviet Union and the European Space Agency. A Japanese-built rocket called Sakigake (Pioneer), carrying a 300-pound payload, was launched from the southern tip of Japan’s home islands. In three days, it is to be propelled out of Earth’s orbit on a 14-month, 106-million-mile trip around the sun.