The National Space Development Agency of Japan , or NASDA, was a Japanese national space agency established on October 1, 1969 under the National Space Development Agency Law only for peaceful purposes. Based on the Space Development Program enacted by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), NASDA was responsible for developing satellites and launch vehicles as well as launching and tracking them.

The N-I or N-1 was a derivative of the American Thor-Delta rocket, produced under license in Japan. The N stood for "Nippon" (Japan). It used a Long Tank Thor first stage, a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries-designed LE-3 engine on the second stage, and three Castor SRMs. Seven were launched between 1975 and 1982, before it was replaced by the N-II. Six of the seven launches were successful, however on the fifth flight, there was recontact between the satellite and the third stage, which caused the satellite to fail.