"HAYABUSA" Back To The Earth

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This is "HAYABUSA", a probe of Japan.

Outline of HAYABUSA

Asteroids are thought to be celestial bodies that preserve information from the time of the Solar System's formation. If we collect a sample from an asteroid and bring it back to Earth to carry out precise research on it, we can gain some
precious clues to understand the origin and evolution of the Solar System.

Bringing back a sample from a celestial body in the Solar System is called "Sample Return." "HAYABUSA" is a probe to verify the practicality of acquired technology developed to archive future full-scale "sample return missions."

"HAYABUSA' was launched aboard the M-V Launch Vehicle on May 9,2003. It was accelerated by a swing-by of the Earth in May 2004 and reached its target Asteroid Itokawa on September 12,2005, after traveling about 2 billion kilometers. in September and October that year, "HAYABUSA" completed the most remote-sensing and measurement of the geometry of Itokawa and made two landings in November to collect a sample from Itakawa.

Many many accidents attacked "HAYABUSA" during voyage, but a lot of efforts and ideas of stuffs help him. And "HAYABUSA" completely responded to their requests. It's just a miracle.

His voyage finishes tonight.
He drops a capsule on the earth, and after that, he burns out in the atmosphere.
This thought is quite Japanese way, many Japanese feel "HAYABUSA" got a soul.
So, we'll say to him, "Welcome home, you're a really big guy!".

We never forget you, HAYABUSA.

JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)

HAYABUSA -The Final Approach-

To the Space

I forgot that there is a topic I want to post. It's Japanese rocket called "H2B".
Do you know Japan has the technology to launch the rocket by oneself? In Japan, there is the agency called "JAXA" as well as "NASA" in US.

The history of rocket in Japan is long. There were many failures, but launching the artificial satellite, although it was test satellite, had succeeded for the first time in 1970.

After about 40years from that, at 2:01AM on 11 September in 2009, H2B, the latest rocket, was launched from Tanegashima Space Center. H2B had the mission that separate successfully HTV(H-2 Transfer Vehicle). And HTV's mission was automatically delivering the supplies to ISS(International Space Station). The mission had safety succeeded on 18 September.

That's great!

Well, There is a movie of launching H2B rocket. It's so beautiful and wonderful scene, because the time is the middle of night. It looks a huge light ball rises.

The movie is here.


「宇宙（そら）へ」

投稿したい話題があるのを忘れてた。それは、“H2B”と呼ばれる、日本のロケットのことだ。
日本が自力でロケットを打ち上げられる技術を持ってるって知ってる？日本には、アメリカの“NASA”と同じように“JAXA”って言う機関があるんだよ。

日本のロケットの歴史は古い。多くの失敗はあったけど、試験衛星ながら、1970年に初めて人工衛星を打ち上げている。

それからおよそ40年後、2009年9月11日午前2時11分、最新のロケット、H2Bが種子島宇宙センターから打ち上げられた。H2Bには、HTVを上手く切り離すミッションがあった。そして、HTVのミッションは、人の操縦無しに、国際宇宙ステーションへ補給物資と届けることだった。

そのミッションは9月18日に無事成功した。すごい事だ！

さて、H2B打ち上げのムービーがある。それはとても美しく、素晴らしい。なぜなら、その時間が真夜中だからだ。まるで、巨大な光の玉が昇っていくように見えるよ。

その映像がこれだ。

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