National Sep. 14, 2013 – 02:30PM JST ( )
TOKYO —
Japan’s new solid-fuel rocket blasted off Saturday carrying a telescope for remote observation of planets in a launch coordinated from a laptop computer-based command center.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the Epsilon rocket from the Uchinoura Space Center in Kagoshima, southwestern Japan, at 2 p.m., live footage showed.
Lift-off had originally been scheduled for Aug 27 but the first attempt was suspended with just seconds to go after a ground control computer falsely detected a positional abnormality.
Japan hopes the rocket, launched with just two laptop computers in a pared-down command center, will become competitive in the global space business.
The three-stage Epsilon—24 meters long and weighing 91 tons—was scheduled to release the SPRINT-A telescope at an altitude of 1,000 kilometers.
JAXA is expected to comment whether the launch was a success after confirming the release of the telescope.
SPRINT-A is the world’s first space telescope for remote observation of planets including Venus, Mars and Jupiter from its orbit around Earth, according to JAXA.
(C) 2013 AFP
