BY SPACEFLIGHT NOW

Follow the preparations and launch of the Japanese H-2A rocket carrying the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite-2. Reload this page for the very latest on the mission.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2002

Japan's H-2A racked up its fourth success in as many launches with the orbital delivery of a satellite designed to keep an eye on our home planet. The advanced booster rocketed away from the Yoshinobu launch complex and into the partly cloudy skies above Japan's Tanegashima Island at 0131 GMT today (8:31 p.m. EST Friday). Read our full launch story.

0201 GMT (9:01 p.m. EST Fri.)

+Plus 30 minutes. With the successful launch of ADEOS-2 completed, the upper stage of the H-2A will be ejecting three small satellites over the next few minutes. Their deployments won't be announced in real-time however. We'll update this page when information becomes available.

0148 GMT (8:48 p.m. EST Fri.)

+Plus 17 minutes, 30 seconds. NASDA reports a successful release of ADEOS-2. Applause has erupted in the control center. The craft will soon deploy its power-generating solar array.

0147 GMT (8:47 p.m. EST Fri.)

+Plus 16 minutes, 36 seconds. Spacecraft separation! The Advanced Earth Observing Satellite-2 has been deployed into Earth orbit from the H-2A rocket's upper stage.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2002
0146 GMT (8:46 p.m. EST Fri.)

+Plus 15 minutes, 47 seconds. Confirmation has been received of second stage engine cutoff. The stage will now prepare for deployment of the ADEOS-2 spacecraft.

0146 GMT (8:46 p.m. EST Fri.)

+Plus 15 minutes. Standing by for engine cutoff.

0143 GMT (8:43 p.m. EST Fri.)

+Plus 12 minutes. Officials report the rocket is flying the proper trajectory with its second stage firing normally.

0141 GMT (8:41 p.m. EST Fri.)

+Plus 10 minutes. NASDA says the smooth flight continues. This burn of the second stage is scheduled to last until around +15 minutes, 38 seconds.

0139 GMT (8:39 p.m. EST Fri.)

+Plus 8 minutes. A good second stage engine is reported.

0138 GMT (8:38 p.m. EST Fri.)

+Plus 7 minutes, 5 seconds. Announcement has been made of first stage main engine cutoff, separation of the spent stage and ignition of the second stage.

0135 GMT (8:35 p.m. EST Fri.)

+Plus 4 minutes, 30 seconds. The payload fairing -- the rocket's nose cone -- has been separated.

0134 GMT (8:34 p.m. EST Fri.)

+Plus 3 minutes, 30 seconds. NASDA says the vehicle is on course and the first stage liquid-fueled main engine continues burn normally.

0133 GMT (8:33 p.m. EST Fri.)

+Plus 2 minutes. The two strap-on solid rocket motors have burned out and jettisoned from the first stage.

0131 GMT (8:31 p.m. EST Fri.)

LIFTOFF! Liftoff of the H-2A rocket with the largest Japanese spacecraft -- the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite-2 -- headed for orbit around Earth's poles.

0126 GMT (8:26 p.m. EST Fri.)

X-5 minutes. All systems still reported "go" for launch.

0116 GMT (8:16 p.m. EST Fri.)

X-15 minutes. Launch remains on schedule. No problems reported by NASDA.

0031 GMT (7:31 p.m. EST Fri.)

Now one hour away from the scheduled launch time. Final systems checks are being performed as the countdown proceeds for an 0131 GMT liftoff from Tanegashima Island. We will update this page with reports on the H-2A's flight as information becomes available. Deployment of ADEOS-2 is expected about 16 1/2 minutes after launch.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2002
2215 GMT (5:15 p.m. EST)

Activities are progressing smoothly, NASDA reports, for liftoff at 0131 GMT (8:31 p.m. EST). Both the first and second stages of the H-2A rocket have been fully filled with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen cryogenic propellants. The tanks will be topped off throughout the rest of the countdown to replace what naturally boils away.

1845 GMT (1:45 p.m. EST)

Loading of the first and second stages with their propellant supplies is underway as clocks tick down for an on-time launch tonight. No problems are being reported by NASDA officials. Meanwhile, the ADEOS-2 spacecraft has been powered up for flight.

1515 GMT (10:15 a.m. EST)

Riding on its mobile launch platform, the H-2A rocket has been rolled 500 meters from the assembly building to the oceanfront launch pad for tonight's scheduled 0131 GMT (8:31 p.m. EST) liftoff. After arriving at the pad, work began to hook up umbilical and lines between the ground systems and the mobile platform. Fueling operations will commence as the countdown continues.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2002

A new Earth-watching satellite will be deployed by a Japanese H-2A rocket Friday night to begin a mission to comprehensively study large-scale environmental changes and trends.

Liftoff of the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite-2 is scheduled for 0131 GMT Saturday, or 8:31 p.m. EST Friday night, at the opening of a 16-minute window. Launch will originate from the launch site on Tanegashima Island, Japan.

This weekend's flight will mark the fourth for the H-2A rocket, which debuted in August 2001. All three previous missions have been successful, although a payload wiring problem prevented a spacecraft from separating in a February launch.

The fourth mission will be the first H-2A to head on a southerly trajectory away from the island launch pad, with ADEOS-2 to be placed into orbit around Earth's poles instead of in a geostationary transfer orbit.

This flight's payload will fill the void left by the original ADEOS satellite launched in August 1996. The older craft suffered a mission-ending malfunction of its power-generating solar array less than a year into its expected three-year lifetime.

ADEOS-2 carries five international instruments to observe a wide variety of phenomena in the Earth system, specifically focusing on understanding the changes that the environment constantly goes through.

Two of the payloads, the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer and Global Imager, were provided by the Japanese National Space Development Agency, or NASDA, which also controls the H-2A rocket program.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory supplied the SeaWinds instrument to monitor ocean winds to help develop more accurate forecasts near coastlines. ADEOS-2's version is a follow-on program to the SeaWinds device on NASA's QuikSCAT spacecraft.

A Japanese payload to keep track of the ozone layer above the North and South Poles and a French sensor to evaluate reflected solar radiation round out the instrument suite.

The 8,000-pound ADEOS-2 spacecraft will orbit about 497 miles high in an orbit that allows it to pass over the same spot on Earth every four days.

Practical goals of ADEOS-2 include the near-continuous observation of the planet to help unravel the mysteries of long term climate trends that can affect all corners of the globe. Such changes can take many years to explain, officials say.

NASDA hopes to develop a next-generation satellite to replace ADEOS-2 once the craft's three to five-year mission is complete.

ADEOS-2 also might be able to augment data pools available to meteorologists to improve weather forecast accuracy for coastal regions and tropical systems.

The H-2A also will carry aloft three microsatellites that will be deployed shortly after ADEOS-2 separates from the second stage.

Australia's FedSat -- weighing about 128 pounds -- will help the nation celebrate its 100-year anniversary. The craft will also conduct a number of scientific, communications, and control experiments in its three-month operational lifetime.

The Whale Ecology Observation Satellite will track groups of whales from orbit via small electronic packs attached to the whales by biologists. Working for up to two years, WEOS should offer a much clearer picture of the lifestyle patterns of whales.

Japan's Micro-LabSat will test several new spacecraft systems and instruments in orbit. Engineers hope to gather data on the systems for at least three months. Micro-LabSat also provided the younger generation of NASDA engineers with valuable experience in satellite construction and operations.

Launch day operations will see the rocket transported from the assembly building to the launch pad about 12 hours prior to liftoff. Once at the pad, the H-2A's cryogenic first and second stages will be filled with their load of super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, along with various other final checks.

After liftoff, the H-2A's twin solid rocket boosters will burn for about 100 seconds before burning out and being jettisoned. The launcher's payload fairing will be let go about four minutes, 20 seconds into flight. The first stage's LE-7A engine will shut off about six minutes, 35 seconds after launch, followed seconds later by stage separation and ignition of the LE-5B powerplant. Needing just one burn to reach polar orbit, the second stage shuts down 15 minutes, 38 seconds into the mission. ADEOS-2 separation occurs 50 seconds later. The three piggyback payloads will separate one-at-a-time about a half-hour after liftoff.

Spaceflight Now will provide updates on this page throughout the countdown and launch of the H-2A rocket Friday night.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2002

Workers at Japan's Tanegashima space launch complex are busy readying an H-2A rocket for the program's fourth launch with an environmental satellite wrapped inside the nose cone.

The H-2A rocket is scheduled to depart the planet from Tanegashima Island's Yoshinobu launch complex at 0131 GMT Saturday (8:31 p.m. EST Friday), or late Saturday morning local time at the site.

Tucked inside the launcher's payload fairing is the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite-2, or ADEOS-2. Marking the first launch of the H-2A into a polar orbit, this fourth flight of the booster will use the most basic version, with just two large solid rocket boosters. A five-meter fairing will be flown on this mission for the first time.

ADEOS-2 will be placed into a Sun-synchronous orbit at about 803 kilometers with an inclination of 98.6 degrees. This orbit will allow the spacecraft and its suite of instruments to pass above the same spot on the Earth's surface about every four days, a feature that is crucial to evaluate the ever-changing environmental conditions on the planet.

Three small spacecraft are also slated to be hauled into orbit by the two-stage H-2A rocket. Australia's FedSat microsatellite, a whale observation craft, and a Japanese microsatellite for engineering objectives will be separated shortly after ADEOS-2 in the launch sequence.

ADEOS-2 arrived at Tanegashima in September 2001 to begin the long road of intensive testing and preparations required before launch. The craft was transported to the fairing assembly building on October 30 to undergo fueling operations and final processing.

The H-2A launcher components arrived via barge on Tanegashima Island November 2, followed the next day by the unpacking and hoisting of the first stage. The second stage was lifted and attached on November 4.

The rocket's twin solid rocket boosters were added to the vehicle on November 5 and 6, and their nose cones were added a few days later.

Fueling operations for the attitude control thrusters of ADEOS-2 took place from November 8 through November 10.

Technicians conducted very thorough inspections of the rocket and satellite payload in the relative lull after the major assembly tasks were complete, making sure all was fit for flight.

The launch team rolled the H-2A vehicle out of the assembly building to the launch pad on November 28 for one of the most important steps prior to liftoff. Engineers loaded the rocket with cryogenic propellants and put the booster and associated systems through their paces in a comprehensive launch simulation. The launcher was rolled back to the vehicle assembly building after the test concluded.

Meanwhile during the same week, ADEOS-2 was encapsulated inside its protective payload fairing, a shell that shields the sensitive spacecraft from atmospheric friction and other contaminants.

ADEOS-2 and the three microsatellite payloads -- surrounded by the payload fairing -- were taken to the H-2A vehicle assembly building and mated atop the second stage on December 6, officially topping off the launch vehicle.

Wednesday saw storable liquid propellant being pumped aboard the second stage for feed attitude control thrusters. The main second stage powerplant is fueled by cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, which is not loaded until launch day.

Stay with Spaceflight Now for a complete preview and live updates during the final countdown and flight of the fourth H-2A rocket.