Today started full of anticipation as it was the day for a meeting on the start of Combined Operations where the satellite starts mating with the launcher hardware and a chance to watch a launch.
The meeting went well agreeing that Combined Operations could start with the mating on the Launch Vehicle Adapter (LVA) tomorrow.
The launch looked great injecting another 20 Starling satellites into orbit. This was the 18th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, DART, Transporter-7, Iridium OneWeb, SDA-0B, and now 13 Starlink missions.
Preparation work continued in the clean room and the LLC.
Today also the Earthcare Dragon logo was approved which looks great!!
Some readers have asked where White Dragon came from
JAXA decided to use “HAKURYU” as Earth CARE satellite’s Japanese nickname. “HAKURYU” means “White Dragon” in Japanese we see the nickname embodies well the distinctive appearance of the EarthCARE satellite, characterized by its white color and solar panels resembling a long tail. In Japan, dragons are revered as divine creatures governing water, aligning well with the EarthCARE mission of elucidating the radiation balance mechanism of the Earth’s atmosphere through the interaction of water and ice cloud formations with aerosols. Among dragons, HAKURYU is believed to fly faster than others, resonating with the image of satellites orbiting the Earth at high speeds.
Furthermore, in the Five Elements philosophy, white represents the west, symbolizing good cooperation with Europe, located in the western direction from Japan.
On a completely separate topic you can judge for yourself the new film release:-)
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