Japan launches rocket carrying sun observation satellite

TOKYO (AP) - Japan's space agency on Saturday launched an observation satellite into orbit around the Earth to study violent eruptions on the sun's surface and other solar phenomena. An M-V rocket carrying the satellite lifted off from Uchinoura in southwest Japan early Tuesday, according to a live Web broadcast by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA. The satellite split from the rocket and entered Earth orbit about an hour later, and was expected to start observations in about 10 days.

The 900-kilogram SOLAR-B satellite - dubbed Hinode, or sunrise in Japanese - was developed by Japan, the United States and Britain and incorporates a trio of telescopes designed to observe the sun's violent outer atmosphere, the characteristics of which still baffle scientists.

Researchers especially hope to discover why the outer reaches of the sun, with temperatures reaching two million to three million degrees Celsius, is far hotter than its surface temperature of about 6,000 degrees Celsius, according to JAXA executive Yasunori Motogawa.

"Many of the sun's properties are still a mystery," Motogawa said. "The satellite will stay in continuous sunlight for most of the year, so we're hopeful it can amass data that may help us understand the sun's energy better."

Hinode will also study solar flares and geomagnetic storms that cause the colourful auroras in the Earth's northern and southern hemispheres, he said. A major solar eruption can also interfere with radio signals and knock out satellites.

Though launched for an initial three-year mission, JAXA hopes Hinode, which is powered by solar cells, will stay in operation much longer - possibly for as long as 10 years, about the full duration of the solar activity cycle.

Hinode's launch follows a string of successes for Japan's space agency, which has struggled in the past.

The agency launched two H-2A rockets from the southern island of Tanegashima in January and February, each carrying observation satellites.

Japan is racing to catch up with China, a regional rival that has put astronauts into space twice since 2003, becoming only the third country to send a human into orbit on its own after Russia and the U.S.

Following Beijing's success, Japan - which put its first satellite in orbit in 1972 - said it was reconsidering its focus on unmanned missions and announced plans to send its first astronauts into space and set up a base on the moon by 2025.

Earlier this month, the agency launched its third intelligence-gathering satellite amid concerns over neighboring North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile programs.

© The Canadian Press, 2006