Japan lunar probe reaches orbit
fruitella
walking on da moon,
i hope my legs don't break,
walking on da moon.
congratulations to the Japani.
------------
Japan lunar probe reaches orbit
By ERIC TALMADGE, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 41 minutes ago
TOKYO - Japan put its first satellite into orbit around the moon
Friday, placing the country a step ahead of China and India in an
increasingly heated space race in Asia.
The probe was set into lunar orbit after completing a complicated
navigational maneuver late Thursday, space agency officials said. The
probe will gradually move into orbit closer to the surface to the moon
before conducting a yearlong observational mission.
"We believe this is a big step," said project manager Yoshisada
Takizawa. "Everything is going well and we are confident."
Though four years off schedule, the mission comes at a crucial time
for Japan.
China is expected to launch its own moon probe by the end of the year,
and India is to follow with an unmanned lunar mission in 2008.
Japanese officials claim the $279 million Selenological and
Engineering Explorer - or SELENE - is the largest lunar mission since
the U.S. Apollo program in terms of overall scope and ambition,
outpacing the former Soviet Union's Luna program and NASA's Clementine
and Lunar Prospector projects.
The mission involves placing the main satellite - called "Kaguya,"
after a legendary moon princess - in a circular orbit at an altitude
of about 60 miles and deploying two smaller satellites in elliptical
orbits, according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA.
Researchers will use data gathered by the probes to study the moon's
origin and evolution. Takizawa said it will begin its observation
phase in mid- to late-December.
"The timing was very delicate," he said at a news conference in JAXA's
Tokyo headquarters via a video link from the mission command center
south of the capital. "It was important to the completion of the
mission, and it was successful."
Japan launched its first satellite in 1970 but is now struggling to
keep up with rival China.
Japan launched a moon probe in 1990, but that was a flyby mission. It
canceled a 2004 moon shot, LUNAR-A after repeated mechanical and
fiscal problems.
SELINE was launched on Sept. 14 aboard one of the space program's
mainstay H-2A rockets from Tanegashima, the remote island where the
agency's space center is located.
To garner public interest, the probe carries sheets engraved with
messages from 412,627 people around the world in its "Wish upon the
Moon" campaign.
China's minister of defense and technology told China Central
Television in July that everything was ready for a launch "by the end
of the year" of the Chang'e 1 orbiter, which will use stereo cameras
and X-ray spectrometers to map three-dimensional images of the lunar
surface and study its dust.
China sent shock waves through the region in 2003 when it became the
first Asian country to put its own astronauts into space. More
ominously, China also blasted an old satellite into oblivion with a
land-based anti-satellite missile, the first such test ever conducted
by any nation, including the United States and Russia.
That test was widely criticized for its military implications. A
similar rocket could be used to shoot military satellites out of
space, and create a dangerous cloud of space debris.
India plans a manned space mission by 2015, using indigenous systems
and technology. That will be preceded by an unmanned moon mission,
Chandrayaan-1, in April 2008.
BradGuth
JAXA SELENE/SELINE via H-2A/H-IIA
http://www.jaxa.jp/countdown/f13/index_e.html
http://www.selene.jaxa.jp/index_e.htm
For some silly odd reason there's been nothing of any good (meaning
informative or otherwise deductive) usenet chat about this JAXA
mission. It's as though being all super hush-hush or taboo/
nondisclosure rated. Wonder why? (and why the intentional
disinformation spelling of the mission name "Seline"?)
"The KAGUYA mission targets are the global characterization of lunar
surface and detailed gravimetry."
Sounds perfectly nifty and worth every bit of whatever that mission of
remote obtained science can contribute about our physically dark,
somewhat salty and otherwise unavoidably naked/anticathode worthy of
gamma and X-ray saturated environment, especially as for eventually
offering detailed review per each of our NASA/Apollo hard landings or
impact sites.
Perhaps this time those new and greatly improved CCD obtained images
will utilize their full dynamic range, and thus unavoidably provide a
few good FOVs that'll include the rather nifty vibrance and unusual
natural colour spectrum of Venus above the moon's physically dark
horizon, possibly even eventually a few that'll include Earth and
Venus within the very same Field Of View that'll still include
something of the moon's natural deep colours and contrast of those
rather unusual mineral deposits.
BTW, only taking nearly 3 weeks instead of 3 days to get SELENE into
lunar orbit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H-IIA
H2A2022
285,000 kg (2 stage + SRBs) / total payload mass was 3020 kg
http://www.jaxa.jp/pr/brochure/pdf/01/rocket01.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SELENE
-
Main Orbiter
Mass: 2914 kg
Size: 2.1 x 2.1 x 4.8 m
Attitude control: Three-axis stabilized
Power: 3.5 kW (Max.)
Mission period: 1 year
Mission Orbit: Circular orbit,
Altitude 100 km
Inclination 90 degree
The total payload mass was reportes as 3020 kg + 1400 kg faring
107.1:1 ratio of rocket/payload (323.42/3.02 tonnes)
H2A2022 323.42 tonnes w/fairing and payload, requires those extra 2
SRBs + 2 Solid strap-on Boosters (SSBs)
With an inert mass of merely 42.62 tonnes, or 13.18% (as opposed to
our NASA/Apollo fiasco of having to start off hauling nearly a 30%
worth of inert mass)
As for the SELENE mission delivery only taking an energy efficient 3
weeks (instead of NASA/Apollo's swift 3 days with fuel and payload to
spare) in order to get their mission into lunar orbit, as such seems
to be entirely believable as based upon those regular laws of fly-by-
rocket physics.
- Brad Guth -
BradGuth
In addition to those various links of our Apollo moon landing hoax,
here's something that's as equally extra weird, as to pondering why
all the unusual lack of topic interest, or rather perhaps why the
ongoing official usenet banishment of anything JAXA SELENE/KAGUYA?
Perhaps JAXA's SELENE/KAGUYA via H-2A/H-IIA is also having to become
yet another hoax, especially since it's getting so much harder to hide
the truths about our moon.
Japan lunar probe reaches orbit
http://groups.google.com/group/sci.space.policy/browse_frm/thread/ba6e27556d88b326/003f35e7781e5cdb#003f35e7781e5cdb
JAXA SELENE/KAGUYA via H-2A/H-IIA
http://www.jaxa.jp/countdown/f13/index_e.html
http://www.selene.jaxa.jp/index_e.htm
For some silly odd reason there's been nothing of any good (meaning
informative or otherwise deductive) usenet chat about this JAXA moon
mission. It's as though being all super hush-hush or taboo/
nondisclosure rated. Wonder why?
"The KAGUYA mission targets are the global characterization of lunar
surface and detailed gravimetry."
Sounds perfectly nifty and worth every bit of whatever that mission of
remote obtained science can contribute about our physically dark,
somewhat salty and otherwise unavoidably naked/anticathode worthy
mascon of gamma and X-ray saturated environment, especially as for
eventually offering those detailed reviews per each of our NASA/Apollo
hard landings or impact sites.
Perhaps this time around those new and greatly improved CCD obtained
images will honestly utilize their full dynamic range, and thus
unavoidably provide a few good FOVs that'll include the rather nifty
vibrance and unusual natural raw colour spectrum of Venus above the
moon's physically dark horizon, possibly even eventually sharing a few
shots that'll include Earth and Venus within the very same Field Of
View that'll still include something of the moon's natural deep
colours and contrast of those rather unusual mineral deposits.
BTW, only taking 3 weeks instead of 3 days to get JAXA's SELENE into
its outer-most lunar orbit. (go figure)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H-IIA
H2A2022 / 285,000 kg (2 stage + SRBs) / total payload mass was 3020 kg
http://www.jaxa.jp/pr/brochure/pdf/01/rocket01.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SELENE
-
Main Orbiter
Mass: 2914 kg
Size: 2.1 x 2.1 x 4.8 m
Attitude control: Three-axis stabilized
Power: 3.5 kW (Max.)
Mission period: 1 year
Mission Orbit: Circular orbit,
Altitude 100 km
Inclination 90 degree
Their total payload mass was later reported as 3020 kg + 1400 kg
faring
107:1 ratio of rocket/payload (323.42/3.02 tonnes)
H2A2022 323.42 tonnes w/fairing and payload, requires those extra 2
SRBs + 2 Solid strap-on Boosters (SSBs)
With an inert mass of merely 42.62 tonnes, or 13.18% (as opposed to
our NASA/Apollo fiasco of having to start off hauling nearly a 30%
worth of inert mass, with merely a 60:1 rocket/payload ratio) is what
seems more than a tad bit odd, if not entirely hocus-pocus worthy.
As for the SELENE mission's orbital delivery process only taking an
energy efficient 3 weeks (instead of NASA/Apollo's swift 3 days with
fuel and payload to spare) in order to get JAXA's 3 tonne mission into
lunar orbit (actually it's taking yet another two weeks for getting
into the desired 100 km polar orbit), as such seems to be entirely
believable as based upon those regular laws of fly-by-rocket physics
that our NASA/Apollo wizards apparently never have to worry about,
just like their not haviong to worry about the gamma and X-ray
saturated surface environment that was also highly electrostatic and
salty.
http://www.jaxa.jp/countdown/f13/topics/pdf/1007_0330_loi3_e.pdf
Shouldn't we bother to ask if there's a little something about our
Third Reich semitic fortified NASA/Apollo hocus-pocus worth of
conditional fly-by-rocket physics, that which we do not yet honestly
know about? (apparently so)
- Brad Guth -