Things had been so going well until about two weeks ago. After my first test with the on-board X-ray source, I rested for a while, and then the NASA folks wanted me to take some more calibration data. Before I knew it, there was gas from the liquid helium where it shouldn't have been. I… Continue reading »
Today they turned on my refrigerator, which got me down to 60 millikelvin, and then had me look at the artificial source of X-rays that I brought along. I saw them just fine. Because I talk with people in Japan only once an orbit, my NASA friends did have to wait about 90 minutes before… Continue reading »
I'm now in a nearly circular orbit at an altitude of about 565 km. Right where they wanted me to be. My NASA friends continue to set my operating parameters and electronic thresholds in preparation to operate my fancy refrigerator (which gets me down to 60 millikelvin). They turned on the magnets for a short… Continue reading »
I thought they wouldn’t extend the optical bench for another week, but they did it today! The spacecraft mechanical engineers said it was “perfect.” But of course! Juli also sent up a few commands to me to turn on some of my electronics. I heard it loud and clear. So I’m ready whenever they are… Continue reading »
There I am, on my way! The launch photos are awesome. But you know what’s even cooler? You can watch the launch in a QuickTime video (about 1.8MB)! The video is really cool — you get to see what it looks like from the ground, the sky, and even a special view from the rocket.… Continue reading »
Up, up, and away! I got off the ground at 12:30 PM JST… and I’m on my way into orbit. I’m too excited to be scared. This is unbelievably cool. The weather at the end of the week was really ugly, and everyone was worried that there would be more delays. But it didn’t look… Continue reading »
Kevin sent me this picture taken from the town near the launch site. You can see the antennas up on the ridge above town. The town used to be called Uchinoura, but it merged with its neighbor at the beginning of the month. Now its called Kimotsuki-cho. At least it knows its new name. I… Continue reading »
Well, it looks like the launch will have to wait a little longer. After last week was so warm and sunny, a storm blew in just when we needed a clear day! Rats. Here’s a picture from today. The white spot over the water is the weather balloon that they sent up to check the… Continue reading »
Don’t Look Down! Check out those scorch marks The personalized turntable They’re still pumping down my helium. Just one more day to go. I can’t believe it… it’s taken so long to get here, and I’m about to go up into space. I can’t wait to start looking at all of the things they want… Continue reading »
To all my friends in the US, Happy Fourth of July! We’re getting really close to launch here, and the final preparations are being made. One of the last things that has to be done before I go into space is topping off my dewar full of helium. It’s getting chilly — that helium is… Continue reading »
They woke me up before 2 o’clock this morning to start the launch rehearsal. I thought I’d be sleepy, but I was wide awake as soon as everything got started. I don’t think anyone could sleep through a rocket launch, even just a rehearsal. There’s so much going on, from the rocket to the launch… Continue reading »
Another rest day… the rocket team is working today, but I don’t have any tests or practices. I think all of my friends are glad about this, because we’re going to have to get up before dawn tomorrow to start our launch rehearsal! I don’t think they’re all morning people, especially when they’re still dealing… Continue reading »
The time has come to practice everything… rolling the rocket out, turning things off and on, and getting everything ready for launch. Today, the excitement was the practice rollout of the rocket. That was pretty cool! Since it’s been hot here, they’ve got an air conditioner to keep me cold out on the launch pad.… Continue reading »
Brrrrr More friends in town! Kevin and Rich got here today, just in time for the first test since the rocket was all put together. Everything looks great, and the weather is still warm and clear. I can tell that everyone is really excited about launch. It’s not just me! And check out this photo… Continue reading »
Breaking News I’m ONE WEEK away from the launch window! I can’t quite believe I’m here, I keep expecting to wake up back at Goddard and find out it was just a dream. It’s just so exciting! More of my old friends from Goddard are on their way here for the launch, and everything is… Continue reading »
Putting in the plumbing They’re doing a lot of work with the electrical and plumbing stuff today, to get ready for the final tests and launch preparations. I got a photo of Ochi-san and Yoshida-san putting some of the plumbing in place that will cool down the Neon in one of the dewars around me.… Continue reading »
Getting ready to move outside The Goliath Crane in front of the launch tower The view from up top! Guess where I am! I’m out on the launch pad! We now have a complete M-V-6 rocket. The weather was really nice today, so the rocket team got the “GO” to move everything out to the… Continue reading »
All sealed up and no place to go... The sun came back out, which makes everyone happy. We need good weather to have a launch! They’re finishing up with the encapsulation and I’m inside the nose cone, safe and sound. I’ll spend another night or two here, and then they’ll move me out to the… Continue reading »
Getting closer to lift-off! It’s official! Everything has been checked and we’re cleared for a launch on July 6! A couple days ago they attached me to the 3rd stage rocket motor. And today, after waiting through a 3-hour thunderstorm, we got “encapsulated” into the nose-cone of the rocket. It’s exciting, but Wow, I realized… Continue reading »
Okay, now I understand about this “rainy season” thing. It’s been raining hard since about 11PM last night, and looks to keep dumping on us all day. This explains the 2-foot deep ditches beside all the roads. Bad news! Now they’ve delayed the first possible launch date to July 6. That rots. Something about swapping… Continue reading »
There sure are a lot of people buzzing around And all because of me! More rocket people arrive each day. Today we had a dry run for the rehearsal of the launch. I think we should have practiced for the dry run, myself. Actually, the rehearsal will be fun. That’s on Saturday.… Continue reading »
Just finished another 2-day test. Nobody trusts me to take care of myself. It was just a long truck ride, not like I was being launched into space or something. Although with all those sharp turns on the road I was beginning to feel a little green around the solar panels, I must admit. Oh… Continue reading »
We’re here! The launch tower We’re here! We arrived safely at the launch site. Here’s a picture of us being unloaded from the truck. I don’t know why everyone says its so hot and rainy here; the weather is perfect! Upper 70s and sunny. This is going to be fun! Thanks to the folks at… Continue reading »
Good-bye! “Mata Ugoiteiru” (OK, OK, that’s as close as I can get to “On the Road Again!”) Yipee – we’re on our way to the launch site! We made our stop at Tsukuba Space Center (outside of Tokyo). There they took a final weight measurement and spin test (one more time – around and around… Continue reading »
I’m bummed out! Today they were supposed to announce my launch date. But instead we have a launch window. So we’ll launch either between June 26 and July 15, or between July 22 and Aug 2. I guess there’s a few more things they need to check out. They’re planning on announcing the launch date… Continue reading »
Now that we’re actually getting closer to launch (woo-hoo!), things are getting busy again. There’s a lot of excitement in the air as we move into the final stages of putting everything together and testing it. I know, it seems like they’re always testing something! Imagine being in my shoes. Today they’re testing the solar… Continue reading »
Launch simulation totally owns! We ran through two fake launches today, including all of what will happen when I really go up. It’s getting exciting. They had a couple problems with the automatic procedure the first time, but all of my stuff worked just right! I guess that’s why they do these simulations, huh? Gotta… Continue reading »
Boy, did that take a long time. Those guys were here until 2AM, making me run through all kinds of tests, and even trying out a little change to some of my software. They say it’s a fix they want to have ready just in case my temperature controller goes out of whack in orbit.… Continue reading »
Wow, did I sleep that long? It sure is good to wake up and see my friends from the US again. Everyone’s back here! Yesterday they cooled my liquid helium back down to 1.2 Kelvin. They do this alot. They hook up my helium tank to a vacuum pump, and pump out any gas that… Continue reading »
Today I got my marching orders! The US scientists and the Japanese scientists in charge of the Astro-E2 mission met here last week to finalize the list of objects that I’ll be looking at once I get into space. It’s a combination of objects that were proposed by American astronomers and by Japanese astronomers separately.… Continue reading »
Well, I’m pretty bummed out today. I just found out that my launch has been delayed until next summer, instead of at the beginning of the year. Everyone is disappointed, but there is one good thing that comes out of this — we don’t have to work straight through Christmas! So this will mean more… Continue reading »
Here’s the set-up of the vibration test for the satellite We’re now in the middle of doing vibration tests on the entire satellite. I’ve been through so many of them so far (they do them at just about every stage to make sure that everything will hold up in space), I thought I knew exactly… Continue reading »
Today they did a slow spin test of the satellite. This is to make sure the satellite doesn’t wobble. They’re testing the location of the center of mass, and they want to make sure it’s along the axis of the satellite. So they put me up on this giant turntable (like a record player), and… Continue reading »
I’ve heard that my friends in the United States have chosen the objects that I’ll be looking at after I get into space. Over this past summer, American astronomers wrote proposals for what they wanted me to look at. They have to specify the object and the reasons for looking at it. Sometimes different astronomers… Continue reading »
I’m in the spotlight today! We tested my solar paddles (the big solar panels that will get power for everything from the Sun), so they turned on a giant bank of lights to shine on them. It makes the room so bright! It makes me glad that I’ve got all of that stuff around me… Continue reading »
More good news! Back at SHI, there was some vibration coming from the mechanical cooler (the part that keep the neon cold for an extra-long time while I’m up in space). The team was worried that it would affect me. But here at ISAS, the vibration seems to be totally gone. They made some changes… Continue reading »
Now that I’m on the spacecraft, there’s a whole new battery of tests for the team to put me through! To be honest, sometimes I get tired of all of the tests. But I also know that this is the last round — I’m on the spacecraft, they’ll put me through these final checks, and… Continue reading »
Getting into my place on the spacecraft WOOHOO!! I’m finally on my spacecraft! They woke me up early this morning, because we all knew it would be a long and exciting day. My spacecraft had been sitting just down the hall for weeks now, and I was getting so impatient to hop on board. But… Continue reading »
All my tests are done (at least for now), and the Goddard team is packing up. They make as much commotion leaving as they did coming! But I know they’ll be back. At least Japan beat Canada in baseball for the Bronze medal!… Continue reading »
We did the last vibration test this morning. This was the z axis – i.e. up and down. It not only vibrates, but there’s also a “thurst” test. So this is like getting a kick in the pants! But everything still checked out, so I’m ready for the next step. Good thing I’m not afraid… Continue reading »
Everything from yesterday's vibration test checked out. So today we did another one… Continue reading »
Everyone came in excited today. Mizuki Noguchi won the Women’s Marathon in the Olympics yesterday. Everyone’s proud (and a little relieved!) that Japanese women have won it two Olympics in a row. They’re also talking about the Japanese baseball team – they’re tied with Cuba for first place after the preliminary round and everyone expects… Continue reading »
I arrived at ISAS today. That’s the Japanese Space Agency outside of Tokyo. It was another long truck trip, so I’m glad I’m here. Here’s a map. It’s great to be here, since this is where the spacecraft is. In fact, I’m now in the same room as the spacecraft. The room is bigger than… Continue reading »
After all of the excitement, things are totally quiet again. It’s sort of freaky! SHI is closed and everyone has gone home to celebrate Obon, which is a big Japanese holiday where people celebrate their ancestors. Everything is closed, not just the lab – all of the factories and business are dark and silent, too.… Continue reading »
My days here at SHI are quickly coming to an end… it’s almost time for another big trip! Once all of the calibration and testing gets done here, they’ll pack me up in another big box and take me on a truck ride to my new home across Japan. I’m pretty excited, but not about… Continue reading »
Today they installed the aperture cylinder. This sits in a hole above me in the neon dewar. This cylinder keeps water vapor that’s in the thermal blankets from getting onto the filters. It’s about the size of a soda can, and has baffles in it to keep the water from going from the warm outside… Continue reading »
They’re still giving me my physical. Today the Japanese team spent a while taking my temperature. They want to check all of my internal thermometers and the gauge that determines how much helium is left in my dewar (which, in turn, will tell them how much longer I’ll be cold enough to see x-rays). The… Continue reading »
The typhoon has passed, leaving everything as it was… just wet! Things are busy around the clock here – during the day, there are Japanese technicians working on the dewar, and then at night the Goddard team is collecting data. And I thought it stunk when I was bored! There’s no time to relax when… Continue reading »
Everyone here is a little anxious because there’s a typhoon coming. Typhoon #10 (they don’t give them names in Japan) will bring some really wicked rain and winds. But I survived Hurricane Isabel back at Goddard last fall… I doubt this typhoon can be any worse! Still, they’re making sure that everything will be safe… Continue reading »
I’ve been looking at these same x-ray lines for a few days now. They just tweak something here and there to see if it affects me. I’m staring at them for nearly all day, with only about an hour break when they need to run the ADR to cycle the temperature. It gets a bit… Continue reading »
Everyone seems pretty happy with how things are working, so most of my time is just spent looking at different x-rays to check out what I can see. They have all of these different set-ups for making the x-rays. I bet space will be a lot more exciting, since I’ll actually be looking at black… Continue reading »
I’m still getting checked out. They’re testing my vision, opening and closing valves, turning things on and off… basically, they making sure that everything is working together properly. So whenever they change something, they ask me to look at some x-rays and tell them what I see. One of the most important parts of all… Continue reading »
Today they ran the mechanical cooler that’s attached to the innermost ring of the neon dewar. It’s like a little refridgerator that helps keep the neon cold. It extends the life of the neon. The longer the neon lasts, the longer I’m able to operate! But since this is a mechanical cooler, it vibrates a… Continue reading »
Juli sent over this great picture today. She and my buddy Kevin are at ISAS installing and testing the electronic boxes on the spacecraft. They’re testing the power generation of the spacecraft solar panels with simulated sunlight. These are megawatt lamps! Awesome! Today they changed over to the “RTS” calibration system. This provides a whole… Continue reading »
What a great day! I’m looking at the world through X-ray glasses! My detectors are finally cold again, so I can see X-rays for the first time since I got here. I got down to 60 millikelvin, and they put a radioactive iron source in front of me, and I saw it! The iron source… Continue reading »
I’m full of helium. It feels good to be cold again. Sure is hot in Niihama. At least I didn’t have to join in the softball game. My Goddard friends sent me this photo of Tom Bialas getting a good hit, but I have a feeling it was about the only one they got. It… Continue reading »
Still going full blast. Everybody’s been busting their butts to get things ready for my grand cooldown. They had to check out all the stuff they’re gonna attach to me. Apparently they’re totally freaked about what would happen if they did something to hurt me. I’m not a total wimp, guys! But they’ve checked all… Continue reading »
Like 5 million people from Goddard got back here yesterday. Okay, not 5 million, just 9, but the clean room is still abuzz with activity. They’re here to start cooling me down and making sure all my detectors work. Last I saw they were trying to open a tool chest that got jammed in shipping.… Continue reading »
Today I saw the list of the first objects that I’ll be looking at once I get into space. There’s a group of scientists from Japan and the United States that make up the Astro-E2 Science Working Group. This group has drawn up a list of objects that they want me to look at during… Continue reading »
The long pump down continues. The Goddard team is done here for now and has left. Juli is at ISAS (the Japanese Space Agency facility outside of Tokyo) where they are are beginning the steps for putting the electronic boxes on the spacecraft. These electronic boxes control the various cooling stages for me, and take… Continue reading »
Well, I’ve been pumping down for a couple days now. They hooked up all the vacuum hoses to the neon dewar and starting pumping the air out. They did it real slow, taking about six hours to get down to a pressure of 1 Torr. Atmospheric pressure is 760 Torr, so it’s not a bad… Continue reading »
No one told me I’d have to do gymnastics! Today the team made me stand on my head while they installed the set of filters on top of the neon dewar. Scott said they do it this way so that in case they drop one, it will just fall back into the technician’s hand, instead… Continue reading »
They’re back! My friends from Goddard are back here this week! We had lots of catching up to do. I had to let them know that my Japanese hosts have been taking good care of me. My friend from Goddard, Juli, said everything back home was good, but noisy. The cicadas are out for their… Continue reading »
OK, the neon dewar is done, and here I am. I’m deep inside this thing, safe and secure (but fully aware of my surroundings!) Hey, No R2D2 jokes! I don’t twitter and I definitely don’t serve drinks!… Continue reading »
Sorry I haven’t written for a while. The Japenese team here is continuing to build up layers on the neon dewar. It’s tedious, but they are very careful workers and want to get it done right. Here’s a picture of what I look like now.… Continue reading »
Everyone said “Sayonara, mata isshuukango ni.” Everyone is going on vacation! Tomorrow starts “Golden Week” when there are 4 national holidays. The first is Greenery Day, a national holiday devoted to nature (it used to an emperor’s birthday). May 3 is “Constitution Day” which celebrates the new Japanese constitution after WWII. Kind of sounds like… Continue reading »
Things have been progressing slow but sure here. The Japanese are putting on more layers of thermal blankets and lids. All of this will help keep the neon cold (at 17 K), which will keep my liquid helium cold (at 1.3 K), which will keep me cold. Living in another culture is funny. The world… Continue reading »
Scott and the Goddard team started leaving today. Their work here is done for the time being. For the next month or so, the Japanese will finish constructing the neon dewar around me. Scott has assured me that I’m in good hands.… Continue reading »
Today they put my top on! They call it a neon shield, but it looks like a top for a wedding cake – it’s flat and round. That is, if you’re used to putting metal shields on top of your wedding cakes! Now I’m secure in the neon dewar… Continue reading »
Today we did an alignment check. This is to find out exactly where I am in the neon dewar and in what direction I’m pointing. Later, they’ll use this to make sure that I’m lined up properly on the satellite. Otherwise, I won’t be able to see everything I’m supposed to. They put this shiny… Continue reading »
Today they replaced my cover with one the Japanese made. The big project was to pump down the neon dewar and check to make sure it didn’t leak with me in it. We didn’t start that until late, and it took about 6 hours. Scott stayed up with me until about 2 AM. But no… Continue reading »
Now with the leak test done, I’m back up to regular atmospheric pressure and temperature. Now its time for more checks. Lots of conversation, not all of which I’m getting. Scott translates when necessary. I try, “Mouichido, yukkuri itte kudasai” – sometimes it works!… Continue reading »
Today was a big day! They hoisted me up on a crane and inserted me into the neon dewar which has been waiting here for me. The neon dewar will help keep me cold. Everyone put on their “bunny suits” and their masks. Then they attached me to the crane and then positioned me over… Continue reading »
I’m getting cleaned now – one thing that is definitely the same in America and Japan is the attention to cleanliness. Everyone works very hard to keep me free of dust and dirt and stuff. They wear special hooded suits, plus shoe covers, masks, and gloves. The Americans call them “bunny suits.” It’s always a… Continue reading »
I’ve recovered a bit from my long trip. Here’s a map of where I am in Japan. I flew into Tokyo, and then took another truck to Niihama. I’m now at Sumitoma Heavy Industrys (SHI for short) where the neon dewar is waiting. They piled me in with all that dry ice for the trip,… Continue reading »
OK, now I’m messed up. I don’t know what day it is! We crossed the international date line, and we gain a day? My first international flight … and I didn’t even get to fly first class! I was hoping for an in-flight movie and some peanuts, but no such luck. Just me and my… Continue reading »
So today they wake me up with this music from a 1960’s group: “I’m leaving on a jet plane, don’t know when I’ll be back again.” What’s that all about? Actually, I won’t ever be back. They wheel me out to the plane. It’s HUGE! I’m the first one on, and they put me right… Continue reading »
This morning I got on the 18-wheeler for the trip to the airport. The box was sealed (after they shoveled more dry ice into it – was that really necessary!), and then hoisted me onto the truck. We pulled out on schedule. Everyone waved – I’ll miss them so much. I know I’ll see some… Continue reading »
Today they shoveled 450 pounds of dry ice into the box. So now the tank I’m in is surrounded by dry ice. Something about I have to stay cold. So it’s kind of chilly in here, but not as cold as I’m used to from all those tests. And when I get to where I’m… Continue reading »
OK, so I’m in this tank. It’s kind of dark, and kind of lonely. But it’s not like I haven’t been left alone like this before. Weeks and weeks it seems they would leave me in some tank so they could perform tests. But I showed them I was worth it, and always came through… Continue reading »
Here I am, ready to go! I’m ready! I’m packed! I look good! After months of preparation and work, my friends (the scientists and engineers who have been working their little butts off for the past couple of years), say that I’m ready for my big trip. My helium tank is in good shape, and… Continue reading »
