_                   
                                                         |_|                  
      V   V   SSSS   OOO   PPPP                 \__      |_|      __/         
      V   V  S      O   O  P   P                   --____/ \____--            
      V   V   SSS   O   O  PPPP                    _ _ _ --- _ _ _            
       V V       S  O   O  P                      |_|_|_|  @|_|_|_|           
        V    SSSS    OOO   P                             o-o                  
                                                          /                   
      ***  N    E    W    S  ***                        <)                    

HALCA STATUS

HALCA tracking passes continue once a week to monitor the satellite attitude and the temperatures of the reaction wheels and batteries.

HALCA MOVIE

The English version of the VSOP video, described in the last issue, has been completed. The English version of the 30 minute video is being produced as a DVD and will be distributed to all mission elements.

VSOP-2 PROPOSAL

The deadline for the current ISAS call for mission proposals is the end of September. The various VSOP-2 working groups continue to refine and improve the VSOP-2 proposal. An abridged English version is also being prepared and will be made available to interested international partners.

ASTRO-EII LAUNCH

The X-ray satellite ASTRO-E-II was successfully launched on the M-V-6 rocket on July 10, from the Uchinoura Space Center. After confirmation that the satellite had been injected into orbit, the satellite was named Suzaku, a red sparrow-like bird in Chinese mythology. Tragically, the cryogenically cooled X-ray Spectrometer has ceased functioning, with a series of anomalous temperature changes observed in parts of the dewar ultimately resulting in an event in which the liquid helium completely boiled off. Observations are still possible with the broad-band Hard X-ray Detector, covering 10 to 700 keV, and the X-ray Imaging Spectrometer, which consists of 4 independent X-ray CCD cameras, each with its own X-ray telescope.

HAYABUSA

The Hayabusa ("peregrine falcon") satellite, launched on M-V-5 in May 2003, will reach the asteroid Itokawa (1998SF36) next month. The satellite will stay in the vicinity of the asteroid for several months, making a series of observations and collecting samples from the asteroid's surface which will be brought back to Earth in 2007.

ISAS OPEN DAY

ISAS held its annual open day on Saturday July 23rd, with 13,600 people attending. The VSOP group repeated the popular "black hole" model from last year, and, in addition, manually stowed and deployed a test module for the VSOP-2 antenna design on several occasions during the day. Younger participants were invited to color in a picture of the VSOP-2 satellite, and a number of these will be displayed on the VSOP-2 web page in the future.

                Editors: Phil Edwards and Hirax Hirabayashi