2024.5.25 (VSFB Field Report)

Only 3 days left until the launch of the EarthCARE Satellite (Hakuryu)!

Today was the day to see the satellite off to the launch pad after it had completed its pre-launch preparations.
Up until now, launch site operations have been carried out in a building for carrying out final preparations on the satellite side, but now that the satellite has been housed in the fairing, it is time to transport it to the launch pad on a transport vehicle for mating with the launch vehicle.

It was raining on the morning of the day, which made us a little worried, but the skies suddenly started to clear up just as we were opening the large doors of the building to carry out the fairing containing the satellite, and by the time we were being transported to the launch pad, the weather was the clearest it had been during our stay so far.
It was a truly beautiful sight to see the white fairing being carried across the blue sky, and it was a moving experience to realize that we were finally setting off into space.

At this point, almost all of the work that could be done on the satellite was completed, so we took a break in the town of Lompoc, where we were staying, at a pizza restaurant run by someone who used to work for SpaceX.
As befits a town near a launch site, the wall of the shop's counter was covered with mission patches from the many satellites that have been launched so far, and there were also stickers from EarthCARE on display.
In the center, the next launch schedule is introduced with "NEXT LAUNCH" and it is finally time for the EarthCARE launch!

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