WHEE!!
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 too bad, so they went ahead and gave the “GO” for launch. They finished pumping the helium dewar in the evening and then sealed off the valves. I'm cold!
The first team members came and woke me up around 1 o'clock this morning (no sleeping in on launch day) so they could check on the dewar one more time and do one last test. Then they sealed up the access holes and turned on the air conditioner to keep me cool up here on the tower. And that's when things got really exciting!
The whole launch sequence is really complicated and hard to remember, but there are some cool parts. They started working with all of the computer systems that make the launch work properly (for me and the rocket). Then the rocket team rotated the launcher into position and tilted the rocket to aim me for the proper flight into orbit. And then I just got to wait while they warmed up the gyros, prepped the rocket, and got things into place for launch! I was so nervous… it felt like I was sitting there forever, just waiting. It didn't help that they kept checking the weather all day and making decisions about whether I'd actually get launched. Talk about anxiety!
But the weather looked good, and suddenly it was pretty much time to go. The signal system for launch is neat — they put out a yellow flag here this morning, and then changed it to a red flag 30 minutes before the launch and played a really loud alert siren at the same time. These signals are all to warn ships and aircraft that we're about to launch, and the Japanese police and coast guard also help out with keeping the area clear. Then 3 minutes before launch, they sent up some special fireworks to make sure everyone knew that it was time to get out of the way! I didn't even notice. They started the rocket timer at 50 seconds… ready… set… liftoff!
I'm glad they made me go through all of those vibration tests and spin tests and everything, because I don't think I ever realized how it would actually be going up on that rocket. So noisy and bumpy! But I'm sealed in here, snug and safe and sound, headed off onto an adventure I've only dreamed about.
It'll still be a few weeks before I start observing… they've got some tests (they don't even end with launch) and things to set up. And Astro-E2 will get a new name — it's Japanese tradition to rename the satellite after launch, and the new name is a secret until then. But I've heard that they've already come up with candidate names, so it's only a matter of time before I know what it is!
See you in orbit!
