Japan launches M-5 Rocket with X-ray telescopes

Japan launches M-5 Rocket with X-ray telescopes

While the United States is waiting for the launch of the first Space Shuttle mission (Discovery) in nearly 2.5 years, Japan has launched a little mission of their own. They launched their M-5 Rocket today, which is carrying X-Ray telescopes to the space with the aim of examining heavenly bodies like black holes and galaxies. The news was released to the media by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

The rocket was launched from a launch site at Uchinoura, which is around 620 miles away from the capital city of Tokyo. Around 3 minutes after the launch took place, the 21-foot-long satellite jettisoned its main rocket booster. The leftover rocket boosters than fell back onto the earth. The space organization showcased the event live through a web telecast and confirmed that the mission was successful with Astro-EII satellite reaching its target orbit about 348 miles above the planet’s surface. Japan had earlier this year launched H-2A rocket into the space in February.

Astro-EII would be using solar energy to function in the space and is expected to test the operation of its five X-ray telescopes and its data streaming capabilities. It should be starting its operation sometime next month with relays sent back to earth five times daily to a global network of antenna mission control uses. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency hopes to study the evolution of the universe using the data provided by this satellite.