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Archive

Archived posts are listed in reverse chronological order.


  • Sep. 14, 2007 | 07:00 PDT | 14:00 UTC
    Kaguya continues to operate well
    Just after midnight (that is, 7 hours ago) I received an email from Shin-ichi Sobue, of JAXA, saying that they have confirmed successful deployment of Kaguya's solar panels. "So, Kaguya is alive!!! Yeah!" Also, Yasunori Matogawa confirmed in an... More»
  • Sep. 13, 2007 | 19:13 PDT | Sep. 14 02:13 UTC
    Everything continues to look good for Kaguya!
    After a while of all-Japanese broadcast (during which I had to wander off and put the baby to bed), I returned to find everything continuing nominal for Kaguya, including the webcast, which has returned to being bilingual. As I write, 40 minutes... More»
  • Sep. 13, 2007 | 18:31 PDT | Sep. 14 01:31 UTC
    KAGUYA HAS LAUNCHED!
    LIFTOFF at 10:31:01!! Camera vibrates as it lifts off... Wow that's a fast rocket...nice camera...detail in the exhaust trail is beautiful... Beautiful conic flame, as the rocket begins to disappear into the upper-level haze... SSB... More»
  • Sep. 13, 2007 | 18:26 PDT | Sep. 14 01:26 UTC
    Kaguya launch update: Watching the launch
    Weather is clear; temperature 29.4 C. Wind 9.7 m/s from the east-southeast. No problems for launch. They're ready! Refresh this page to see updates... Tanegashima is a beautiful launch site, on the seaside, with snowcapped waves approaching a... More»
  • Sep. 13, 2007 | 18:21 PDT | Sep. 14 01:21 UTC
    Kaguya launch update: just about to go!
    I'm trying to monitor the status of Kaguya's launch but can't seem to get their webcast feed working. However, the last word on the Mitsubishi blog seems to indicate they're ready to go; and everything looks good through the webcam! Fingers... More»
  • Sep. 13, 2007 | 15:11 PDT | 22:11 UTC
    Opportunity takes first gingerly steps into Victoria Crater
    I have been overwhelmed by Iapetus and Kaguya, so have given scant attention to the fact that Opportunity has finally, at long last, rolled into Victoria Crater for the first time. I didn't want to pass up this news so I asked Doug Ellison to write... More»
  • Sep. 13, 2007 | 13:33 PDT | 20:33 UTC
    Kaguya launch update: Fuel loading complete
    According to Mitsubishi, loading of the hydrogen and oxygen fuel on Kaguya is complete! Launch in 5 hours and counting... Again, here are the sources I've found for launch-watching:Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. launch blogTanegashima webcamAnd,... More»
  • Sep. 13, 2007 | 13:23 PDT | 20:23 UTC
    Enormous Iapetus mosaic
    I am still struggling to digest the massive quantity -- and unmatched strangeness -- of the images from Cassini's encounter with Iapetus. I have heard that some science team members feel just as overwhelmed. What a strange place! How can you... More»
  • Sep. 13, 2007 | 10:27 PDT | 17:27 UTC
    Kaguya launches in less than 8 hours!
    ...at least if the weather holds, it will! I'm looking for suggestions on where to find information about the launch of Kaguya. Here's what I've come up with so far. Here's one website that lists several online locations. JAXA's streaming... More»
  • Sep. 13, 2007 | 10:18 PDT | 17:18 UTC
    Carnival of Space #20
    Go to Music of the Spheres to check out the 20th Carnival of Space!... More»