Put this on your wish list

Rockets are exciting, when they are used for space missions, and anyone can watch the launching from a distance. Japan, too, has a space probe launch site. With a launch scheduled for the public schools' summer vacation, it is a prime holiday destination this year:



Thursday, July 19, 2012


Tourists flock to Tanegashima for rocket launch

Jiji


Tourists are flocking to Tanegashima island in Kagoshima Prefecture for Saturday's launch of an H-IIB rocket.

The H-IIB Launch Vehicle No. 3, carrying the Konotori-3 cargo spacecraft, is scheduled to be launched from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Tanegashima Space Center on Saturday morning.

Hotels, bed and breakfast inns, rental cars and flights have been completely booked for Friday and Saturday, and waiting lists were growing. High-speed boat reservations were almost filled.

Saturday's launch will be the first for a large rocket during the school summer vacation period since 2001, when an H-IIA was launched that Aug. 29.

The H-IIB is larger than the H-IIA, and its white smoke and roar during liftoff are impressive.

The Konotori-3 is loaded with supplies and equipment for the International Space Station, where astronaut Akihiko Hoshide arrived on a Soyuz spacecraft Tuesday.