On 15 January 1995 (13:45 UTC) the EXPRESS capsule was launched by an M-3 SII launch vehicle at Kagoshima Space Center, Japan, into a near-earth orbit.The EXPeriments Re-Entry Space System (EXPRESS) was a cooperative project between Germany and Japan. The spacecraft was built by the Russian spacecraft manufacturer KB SALYUT and provided by the German partner. Unfortunately the launcher did not achieve the planned injection. Only 2.5 orbital revolutions after separation from the launcher the EXPRESS capsule landed on its parachute in a rural area of northern Ghana (Westafrica). However, 35 seconds of telemetry received by the ground station Santiago de Chile proved the proper functioning of the on-board telemetry and telecommand system.