Uchinoura town — Uchinoura town, Kyushu. The Solar-B launch occured in the hills above this small fishing village on the southeast coast of the southern major Japanese Island, Kyushu.
Pre-launch orientation — The day before launch. The Japanese hosted an orientation for some of the VIP guests that described the details of the satellite and rocket. I suppose no gathering of scientists is complete without at least some Powerpoint slides.
Reception the night before — The night before launch. Scientists gathered for a reception in a local hotel. Speeches were brief but enthusiastic and optimistic about the upcoming launch.
Launch-pad, pre-dawn — Uchinoura Space Center, Kyushu: When we arrived at the viewing area, it was still very dark and the satellite was illuminated on the launch pad.
Launch Site view — Uchinoura Space Center, Kyushu: Solar-B on the launch pad from the viewing area. What a spectacular place to watch a launch as the sun rose over the Pacific Ocean.
Loraine and Kathy watch anxiously — Loraine and Kathy keep eyes glued on the launch pad a few minutes before launch. We had been awake for about 4 hours by this time, which was nothing compared to the senior scientists and engineers who were awake all night long. Watch a short video clip of the launch from this perspective: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4635034895065969600
I see smoke... — Launch minus 8 seconds: Smoke begins to appear. Watch a short video clip of the launch by clicking on this link: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4635034895065969600
Launch minus 5 — Launch minus 5 seconds. Watch a short video clip of the launch by clicking on this link: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4635034895065969600
Launch minus 2 — Launch minus 2 seconds. Watch a short video clip of the launch by clicking on this link: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4635034895065969600
Liftoff! — Liftoff! 6:36 AM -- right on time. Watch a short video clip of the launch by clicking on this link: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4635034895065969600
Solar-B begins its ascent — Solar-B is off and away. Watch a short video clip of the launch by clicking on this link: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4635034895065969600
On its way up... — The satellite lit up an amazingly bright streak as it went. We were torn about how much to watch with our eyes and how much to watch with the camera, so some of the pictures had better framing than others :-) Watch a short video clip of the launch by clicking on this link: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4635034895065969600
Still going... — The satellite cut through the cloud cover and was still visible as a glowing streak for a few seconds, but it was basically gone without a trace in less than a minute -- but what a spectacular minute! Watch a short video clip of the launch by clicking on this link: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4635034895065969600
The aftermath — Smoke trail left by the satellite, still visible a minute or so after launch.
Smoke trail — The satellite went up in a straight line, but different wind patterns at different altitudes contorted the smoke trail into this beautiful spiral that disappears into the natural clouds above.
Joy and Relief — I think these expressions are a combination of both joy and relief in the first few seconds after the satellite headed up out of our view.
The XRT Team — The XRT team stands proud in the few minutes after launch. The empty launchpad is barely visible in the background.
L at the pad — Loraine grins happily as the launchpad stands empty off in the distance. A successful launch!
Reliving the excitement — The power of digital cameras. The launch was over so quickly but was so spectacular that everyone wanted to relive it over again on the small screen.
Us — Loraine and Matt at the launch site.
Look, up in the sky! — This is one of the many tracking dishes that panned across the sky, following the motion of the rocket after it launched. By the time this photo was taken, the rocket was half way around to Chile and the dish had returned to its straight-up resting position.
Launch pad tour — Uchinoura Space Center, Kyushu: After launch, we were allowed to visit the actual launch platform. The rocket takes off at a slight angle from vertical, so you can see the tilted orange platform designed to hold it in place before liftoff. You can see black char-marks left behind by the hot engine.
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Scorched earth — Loraine and Matt enjoy the launch site. The blast from the rocket engine was so powerful that it twisted and knocked down this barbed-wire fence erected around the launch site. You can really see the black scorch marks at the base of the originally orange launch pad.
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Reception — Uchinoura town fish market, Kyushu: After the launch, we came to this spectacular setting for freshly caught and cooked fish. The reception for Hinode was held in the town's fish market place right on the water.
Very fresh sashimi — Locals chopped the fresh catch up as sashimi. Now that's fresh fish!
A huge crowd in a spectacular setting — A bit blurry, but you can get a sense of the crowd assembled here to celebrate. Almost all these people all contributed to the satellite in one way or another (or were family members, which is a contribution in and of its own right).
Japanese treats — Sharing in some Japanese treats.
A local politician — This man appeared to be a local politician. Like all the speeches that night broadcast via wireless microphone on the fish market public address system, it was very difficult to make out the words he was saying (this was true when an English speaking NASA representative gave a speech as well, so it wasn't just a language problem). The purpose of the night was not speeches but celebration!
Sharing fish stories at the reception — Sorry for the blur, but the fish market lighting was not designed for digital photography. Mark dines with some of the Japanes colleagues.
Shoes... — Speeches were brief, most of the time. Here I missed Kosugi-san's speech but captured the collection of shoes that everyone removed and scattered at the edge of the blue tarps where we ate.
Watching a high speed replay — Some of the XRT team watches a 500 frame per second high-speed, slow motion version of the launch on a laptop (normal video is something like 24 frames per second).
Japanese music — Blurry, but here a local woman plays a traditional Japanese stringed instrument.
Japanese dancing — Both Japanese and western visitors got into a semi-folk dance.
Arm wrestling — Apparently no Japanese party is complete without an arm wrestling competition. Here, one of the SOT representatives takes on the local Japanese champion. It was a remarkable match that ended in a tie.
P1010081.JPG — Mountains above Kagoshima airport, Kyushu: Loraine and Kathy stop for a picnic lunch at this gorgeous waterfall on their way back to the airport.
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Airport hot springs — Kagoshima airport, Kyushu. The area around the launch site is known for its amazing volcanic features, including hot springs called onsen. We went to one of the great outdoor baths in the mountains earlier in the day, but they are so common in the area that even the airport has an onsen. We took a brief break from the airport stress before flying back.
