T-00:00 |
Liftoff |
With its LE-7A main engine and two solid rocket boosters firing, the 174-foot-tall H-2A rocket lifts off from the Yoshinobu launch complex on Tanegashima Island. A few moments later, the rocket will complete a pitch program to head southeast from the launch site. |
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T+01:55 |
SRB-A Burnout |
The H-2A's two solid rocket boosters exhaust their propellant and burn out at an altitude of 29 miles. |
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T+02:05 |
SRB-A Separation |
The two solid rocket boosters are jettisoned. |
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T+04:30 |
Fairing Separation |
After traversing the dense lower atmosphere and reaching an altitude of 93 miles, the rocket releases the 4-meter (13.1-foot) diameter payload fairing protecting the ALOS 2 spacecraft during the early part of the flight. |
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T+06:36 |
Main Engine Cutoff |
After consuming its liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants, the LE-7A first stage main engine shuts down. The first stage and solid rocket boosters push the rocket to a velocity of more than 7,000 mph. |
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T+06:44 |
Stage Separation |
The H-2A rocket's first stage is separated now, having completed its job. The spent stage will fall into the Pacific Ocean downrange from Tanegashima. |
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T+06:50 |
Second Stage Ignition |
With the first stage jettisoned, the rocket's second stage takes over. The LE-5B hydrogen-fueled engine ignites at an altitude of 199 miles to accelerate the ALOS 2 payload to orbital velocity. |
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T+15:14 |
Second Stage Cutoff |
The LE-5B second stage engine shuts down after reaching its specified orbital targets at an altitude of about 400 miles and an inclination of 97.9 degrees. |
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T+16:04 |
ALOS 2 Separation |
The 4,629-pound Advanced Land Observing Satellite 2 is deployed from the H-2A rocket. Four small secondary payloads will be released a few minutes later. |
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T+25:00 |
Rising 2 Separation |
The 94-pound Rising 2 satellite, jointly developed by Tohoku University and Hokkaido University, separates from the H-2A rocket. Rising 2 was developed after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, and it carries a high-resolution telescopic camera and a thermal infrared camera for Earth observations. |
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T+29:10 |
Uniform 1 Separation |
The 110-pound Uniform 1 satellite, developed by an academic consortium led by Wakayama University, separates from the H-2A rocket. Uniform 1 carries cameras to detect wildfires and deliver fire information to experts on the ground. |
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T+33:20 |
Socrates Separation |
The 110-pound Socrates satellite, built by Tsukuba, Japan-based Advanced Engineering Services Co. Ltd., separates from the H-2A rocket. Socrates will demonstrate a new small satellite bus in orbit. |
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T+37:30 |
SPROUT Separation |
The 15-pound SPROUT satellite, developed by Nihon University, separates from the H-2A rocket. SPROUT stands for Space Research on Unique Technology, and the satellite carries an amateur radio payload and an inflatable membrane structure to deorbit the spacecraft at the end of the mission. |
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