Will Begin Mission In November

It was a little later than planned... but Japanese scientists and space enthusiasts were still able to celebrate "Sun Day" early Saturday, as a rocket carrying the Solar-B satellite lifted off from the Uchinoura Space Port on the southern tip of Japan.

The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency reports all went smoothly for the launch at 6:30 am local time Saturday... and so far, the spacecraft is functioning just as planned. It will take about three weeks to settle into a polar orbit over the North Pole, which will allow it stay in a stationary position with respect to the sun.

As Aero-News reported Friday, the entire mission for Solar-B will last about three years, and scientists hope to learn more about solar flares and details about the sun's atmosphere. It will get about nine months out of each year of continuous sun exposure (the SPF factor has got to be about a million.)

Scientists believe solar eruptions occur when the sun's magnetic fields lines interact with each other causing solar flares -- eruptions tossing massive clouds of plasma, some the size of earth, into space. These eruptions cause ripples in the solar wind and disrupt the earth's magnetic field. Solar flares are also known to wreak havoc with communication systems world-wide.

Solar-B will use three sensitive telescopes to complete its three-year-mission. One is purely optical; the other two can see x-ray and ultraviolet emissions.

Japanese technicians built the spacecraft and the optical scope... but the other two instruments were assembled in the US under Japanese supervision.

FMI: http://solarb.msfc.nasa.gov/