The 2nd time is a charm...five years after the failure of the launch of ASTRO-E1, it's the time for redemption...that's what these good guys over ISAS (now JAXA) have done last night...ASTRO-E2/M-V-6 rocket was successfully launched from Uchinoura Space Center on 23:30 EDT, on July 9th, 2005, and has entered into the scheduled orbit. The separation of the satellite itself from the third stage has been confirmed also. The satellite is now officially named as "Suzaku" which is supposedly a bird god in the ancient Japanese folklore.

In a few days, we will know for sure if we have a newly functional X-ray astronomical observatory in space.

This mission is primarily supported by Japanese government, plus the unique mission instrument designed and provided by NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, etc.

Another Superbowl win for the Patriots. Congrats!

Woot!

I'm agnostic. I know the difference between right and wrong. My parents told me three key things in life: don't steal; don't hurt; and be kind.

And now a question: if I am not a religious person, am I a bad person?

I cannot stand God's fan club: religion. Remember guys, RELIGION IS MAN-MADE CONCEPT. It is how fellow humans interpreted God's thought and will. Its ulterior motive is "perfected" by humans, not by God himself.

Again, I have no problem believing the existence of higher-power, or things and events we cannot describe in terms of science. But geez, I wouldn't want to take mere human's idea for granted. That just seems laughably ludicrous to me.

I posted the following on Deep Impact thread:

Exploration and investment are the reasons for a mission like this.

The former -- exploration -- is what NASA and scientists will advertise in front. Why? Because we know so little about comets. Imagine, if the judgement day comes and we have to "shoot down" one of these in order to save the humanity, wouldn't you be rather comfortable to know what and how comets are really made of? We really do not know what happens to a comet when we toss a stick of dynamite into it, as its structural integrity is not well known.

The latter -- investment -- is the second and the foremost important reason. In order for a super-power nation to sustain its technological supremacy in this world, its government must invest its money for the advancement of engineering and science [*]. The investment to a NASA's mission like this may not seem as important as an investment toward curing cancer, etc., but such assessment is near-sighted. For example, building of a scientific instrument requires a miniaturization of electronic component (in order to reduce its size and weight). Each component is also certified to withstand harsh cosmic environment (sudden changes in temperature and severe bombardment by cosmic radiation). The skills learned through these R&D may eventually trickle down to the industry, and hence possibly leading to development of affordable high-tech components (e.g., IC chips in a decade ago). Basically the high cost of R&D may be paid by the government and the industry would benefit from such learned knowledge. It is not too surprising that a medical breakthrough on cancer may come from the spread of affordable technology obtained through space research.

[*] There was no time in history that a single nation had dominated the world without its technological advantage.

But at the bottom line, the choice is up to you and other constituents in the nation. You ask your representatives to choose either to feed the hungry right now or to invest on the future. I'm inclined to choose the latter.