Tue, Sep 26, 2006
Will Begin Mission In November
It was a little later than
planned... but Japanese scientists and space enthusiasts were still
able to celebrate "Sun Day" early Saturday, as a rocket carrying
the Solar-B satellite lifted off from the Uchinoura Space Port on
the southern tip of Japan.
The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency reports all went
smoothly for the launch at 6:30 am local time Saturday... and so
far, the spacecraft is functioning just as planned. It will take
about three weeks to settle into a polar orbit over the North Pole,
which will allow it stay in a stationary position with respect to
the sun.
As Aero-News reported Friday,
the entire mission for Solar-B will last about three years, and
scientists hope to learn more about solar flares and details about
the sun's atmosphere. It will get about nine months out of each
year of continuous sun exposure (the SPF factor has got to be about
a million.)
Scientists believe solar eruptions occur when the sun's magnetic
fields lines interact with each other causing solar flares --
eruptions tossing massive clouds of plasma, some the size of earth,
into space. These eruptions cause ripples in the solar wind and
disrupt the earth's magnetic field. Solar flares are also known to
wreak havoc with communication systems world-wide.
Solar-B will use three sensitive telescopes to complete its
three-year-mission. One is purely optical; the other two can see
x-ray and ultraviolet emissions.
Japanese technicians built the spacecraft and the optical
scope... but the other two instruments were assembled in the US
under Japanese supervision.
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