Sending rocket towards space is undoubtedly costly. But Japan has launched a new generation of space rockets called Epsilon rocket and hopes that this rocket will be a cheaper and more efficient way of sending satellites into space.
Japan’s space agency JAXA launched Epsilon from south-western of Japan. The Epsilon rocket is about half the size of Japan’s previous generation of space vehicles. It was carrying a telescope called Sprint-A. The telescope is said to be the the world’s first space telescope that will remotely observe planets including Venus, Mars and Jupiter from its Earth orbit.
The most interesting thing about this rocket is it uses artificial intelligence to perform safety checks. It means, Epsilon needs only eight people at the launch site, compared with 150 people for earlier launches. However, many people were present at the launch site to watch the launch. Besides, the launch was also broadcast on the internet. Here’s the launching video.
Jaxa has said that the rocket successfully released the Sprint-A telescope about 1,000 km (620 miles) above the Earth’s surface. The space agency has also said that the Epsilon cost $37m (£23m) to develop which is half the cost of its predecessor.
Source: BBC
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