Fwd: Japan's newest rocket Epsilon lifts off

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From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: September 14, 2013 12:49:46 PM GMT-06:00
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: Japan's newest rocket Epsilon lifts off

JAXA

Press Release

 

Launch Result of Epsilon-1 with SPRINT-A aboard

September 14, 2013 (JST)

 

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

 

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launched the first Epsilon Launch Vehicle (Epsilon-1) with the Spectroscopic Planet Observatory for Recognition of Interaction of Atmosphere (SPRINT-A) onboard at 2:00 p.m. on September 14 (Sat.), 2013 (Japan Standard Time, JST) from the Uchinoura Space Center.

 

The launch vehicle flew smoothly, and, at about 61 minutes and 39 seconds after liftoff, the separation of the SPRINT-A was confirmed.

 

We would like to express our profound appreciation for the cooperation and support of all related personnel and organizations that helped contribute to the launch of the Epsilon-1.

 

At the time of the launch, the weather was cloudy, a wind speed was 8.1 meters/second from the east-north-east and the temperature was 27.2 degrees Celsius.

 

Copyright (C) 2007-2012 Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency 

 

 

Epsilon rocket all aces this time

September 14, 2013

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

 

KIMOTSUKI, Kagoshima Prefecture — Offsetting an earlier failure, Japan's Epsilon rocket roared into space on Sept. 14 after a successful liftoff at 2 p.m. at the Uchinoura Space Center here.

 

Developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the nation's newest-generation rocket carried the Spectroscopic Planet Observatory for Recognition of Interaction of Atmosphere (SPRINT-A) satellite. It was put into orbit about an hour after the launch, and its telescope will enable remote observations of Venus, Mars and Jupiter.

 

The Epsilon, Japan's first new rocket in 12 years, was initially scheduled for its debut launch on Aug. 27. But 19 seconds before liftoff, an alarm indicated a glitch in the rocket's automatic inspection system. The launch was aborted, much to the chagrin of the spectators and JAXA.

 

A large number of people also flocked to the Uchinoura Space Center to witness the launch on Sept. 14, the first day of a three-day holiday weekend. And this time, they were not disappointed.

 

The Epsilon rocket stands 24 meters tall and weighs 90 tons, about half the size of the H-2A, Japan's standard launch system.

 

JAXA reduced the launch costs of the new rocket to about 3.8 billion yen ($38 million), one-third that of the previous liquid-fueled H-2A and half that for the M-V rocket.

 

The Epsilon uses the H-2A's auxiliary booster as the main launcher, and the automation of the error-checking system helped to slash the costs of the launch.

 

It was the first orbital launch of a large rocket from the Uchinoura center since 2006.

 

To welcome spectators for the Sept. 14 launch, the town of Kimotsuki set up six sites for public viewing, as it did on Aug. 27. The Epsilon rocket first appeared from the assembly building as it was being transferred to the launch pad around 10:50 a.m.

 

After the aborted launch on Aug. 27, JAXA organized a special inspection team that rechecked all 2,000 items related to the liftoff.

 

On Sept. 8, the rocket was brought to the launch pad and put through a practice run up to the last five seconds before liftoff. Tests were also conducted for the first time right up to the scheduled time of the actual launch.

 

"We have confirmed that everything went well," a JAXA official said before the launch.

 

(The article was written by Masanobu Higashiyama and Hiroki Koike.)

 

Copyright The Asahi Shimbun Company. All rights reserved. 

 

           

Japan's 'affordable' Epsilon rocket triumphs on first flight

BY STEPHEN CLARK

SPACEFLIGHT NOW

September 14, 2013

 

A Japanese rocket designed to make launches cheaper and more efficient blasted off from southern Japan on Saturday, achieving success on its first flight with a compact telescope to peer at Mars, Venus and Jupiter and study their response to blasts of solar wind.

 

 

Liftoff of the Epsilon rocket occurred at 0500 GMT (1 a.m. EDT; 2 p.m. JST) from the Uchinoura Space Center in southern Japan's Kagoshima prefecture. Credit: JAXA

 

Sporting intuitive smarts, artificial intelligence and controlled by a lean support crew with laptop computers, the 80-foot-tall Epsilon rocket streaked away from a launch pad at the Uchinoura Space Center at 0500 GMT (1 a.m. EDT; 2 p.m. Japan time) Saturday, accelerating out of sight within minutes as it arced over the Pacific Ocean and dropped its empty rocket motors east of the launch site on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu.

 

Spectacular footage from four on-board "rocketcams" showed remarkable views of the launcher's pulsing roll control jets firing to steer the 100-ton rocket from the launch pad, then recorded sensational imagery of the release of the rocket's nose fairing and deployment of the mission's payload about one hour after liftoff.

 

The flight appeared to unfold as planned, and data available on a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency webcast of the launch showed the rocket hit its marks and released the SPRINT-A satellite in an orbit close to the preflight target.

 

"The launch vehicle flew smoothly, and, at about 61 minutes and 39 seconds after liftoff, the separation of the SPRINT-A was confirmed," JAXA said in a press release. "We would like to express our profound appreciation for the cooperation and support of all related personnel and organizations that helped contribute to the launch of the Epsilon-1."

 

The Epsilon rocket's hydrazine-fueled upper stage was supposed to position itself in an orbit between 1,150 kilometers, or 714 miles, and 950 kilometers, or 590 miles, in altitude. The rocket was aiming for an orbital inclination of 31 degrees.

 

SPRINT-A stands for the Spectroscopic Planet Observatory for Recognition of Interaction of Atmosphere. The satellite was manufactured by NEC Corp.

 

Keeping with the JAXA tradition of renaming satellites after launch, officials christened the 767-pound observatory Hisaki after a cape near the mission's launch site in Kagoshima prefecture.

 

Hisaki also translates to "beyond the sun" in English. JAXA confirmed Hisaki extended its two solar array wings after launch.

 

Hisaki's one-year mission is to observe the atmospheres of Mars and Venus, along with the immense magnetic field of Jupiter, to study how the planets respond to the solar wind, a stream of charged particles coming from the sun.

 

The craft's 20-centimeter, or 7.9-inch, ultraviolet telescope and will peer at Mars and Venus to help researchers learn how the solar wind can strip a planet's atmosphere, prompting drastic climate changes and eradicating any life that may have existed there.

 

The product of a Japanese government investment worth more than $200 million, the Epsilon rocket demonstrated new rocket technologies on Saturday's mission, including a computer allowing the booster to complete many of its preflight preparatory tasks autonomously.

 

The computer was exercised during an aborted countdown Aug. 27, in which the rocket's on-board software detected a fault and automatically aborted the launch seconds before liftoff.

 

The rocket's computer detected a signal from a sensor indicating the launcher was tilting in the final seconds of the Aug. 27 countdown. Engineers found no evidence the rocket was out of position, but investigators discovered a time lag in the communication between the vehicle computer and the ground control center.

 

Fabricated from existing rocket motors used on other Japanese launch vehicles, the Epsilon rocket's advancements are not in propulsion but in intelligence and simplicity.

 

Japanese engineers designed the Epsilon rocket to help make space launches more efficient and affordable.

 

Japan's M-5 rocket, the Epsilon's predecessor in the small satellite launch market, took six weeks to assemble and prepare for launch. Once engineers perfect the Epsilon's prelaunch flow, the rocket will be ready to fly seven days after the booster's first stage is stacked on the launch pad, according to JAXA.

 

Developed by an industrial team led by IHI Aerospace Co., the Epsilon booster uses the same launch pad as the M-5, which last flew in 2006. Engineers modified the launch pad by adding a 30-foot-tall pedestal and expanding the facility's flame trench.

 

Designers improved the motor casings on the Epsilon rocket by reducing weight and switching to a tougher carbon fiber material to make the solid-fueled motors more robust, according to Yasuhiro Morita, the Epsilon rocket's project manager at JAXA.

 

The Epsilon's ground infrastructure also boasts enhancements to drive down launch costs. Launch controllers can plug into the rocket's control network with laptop computers, cutting the size of the team needed on launch day, according to JAXA.

 

JAXA expects the Epsilon rocket will launch for half the cost of an M-5 rocket mission. Each Epsilon launch is projected to cost about 3.8 billion yen, or approximately $38 million, according to JAXA.

 

The Epsilon rocket's second mission is scheduled for 2015 with JAXA's Energization and Radiation in Geospace mission to study the effects of solar storms on Earth.

 

© 2012 Spaceflight Now Inc.

 

 

Japan's newest rocket Epsilon lifts off

 

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's first new rocket in 12 years lifted off on Saturday, after two setbacks last month, keeping alive hopes that the country may eventually be able to enter the growing, multi-billion dollar satellite launch industry.

 

The rocket lifted off at 2.00 p.m. (0500GMT / 1:00 a.m. EDT) carrying a telescope for observation of the solar system from space.

 

The three-stage rocket named Epsilon is about half the size of Japan's existing H2A rocket and has been touted as a new, low-cost alternative.

 

A previous launch on August 27 was halted 19 seconds before countdown because of a computer glitch.

 

The successful launch moved Japan a step closer to its goal of cashing in on the international satellite launch industry.

 

The rocket's smaller size and a computer system that allows it to perform its own systems checks means it can be assembled quickly, enabling operators to cut personnel and equipment costs.

 

Launch control can be carried out using conventional desktop computers, reducing costs and making the launches more mobile since they could take place at more sites.

 

U.S. companies had a monopoly on the commercial launch business 30 years ago, but their hold has steadily declined, with most of the business going to the France-based Arianespace, a public-private European partnership that in 2012 reported revenue of 1.3 billion euros.

 

The market has been shaken up by the recent entry of the California-based Space Exploration Technologies, known as SpaceX.

 

Russia also markets a variety of rockets for space launches. Its workhorse Soyuz spaceships have been the only vehicles delivering crews to the ISS since the U.S. Space Shuttle fleet was retired from service in 2011.

 

India and China also provide launch services to some extent.

 

(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Michael Perry)

 

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. All rights reserved.