| VIDEO | AUDIO |
|
The clip opens in a darkened movie theater with the NASA and ISAS logos on the screen. As we zoom in, we see a series of still images of the Astro-E2 satellite and its instruments.
We see artists' conceptions of the Chandra X-ray Observatory and X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission.
Images of people and equipment at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and ISAS are followed by photos and video of the launch of Astro-E in 2000 from Uchinoura, Japan.
We see the fiery launch of the MV rocket, viewed from several angles as it heads into space. We see an animation of a small explosion on the rocket, then a corkscrew of smoke through the sky.
|
NARRATOR: In 1993, scientists and engineers from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and ISAS in Japan joined forces. Together they created an advanced X-ray astronomy spacecraft capable of detecting X-rays from some of the most exotic objects in the universe. This powerful research vehicle, called Astro-E would take 7 years to build - seven long years of waiting that culminated in the year 2000 when ASTRO-E would join two other X-ray observatories in orbit: NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Europe's X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission. While physically located on opposite sides of the Earth, the Japanese and American teams worked closely in pursuit of their shared goal. Together, they developed X-ray spectrometers, X-ray telescopes, and lasting friendships.
Their hard work and careful planning culminated on this day - launch day for ASTRO-E. A day that would bring to each of them the realities of high risk ventures like space flight.
|
|
As Dr. Kevin Boyce speaks, we see the animation of the damaged rocket again.
|
KEVIN: It was okay for a while and then what happened was the lining of the rocket nozzle burned through.
|
|
Curtis Odell shows us the cork screw shape of the rocket's first stage,
then we see the video of the smoke in the sky.
|
CURTIS: And the first stage started to cork screw.
KEVIN: The Japanese people started saying, something's wrong.
CURTIS: We really don't know what happened to ASTRO-E.
KEVIN: It was seen at the tracking station in Christmas Island in the Pacific Ocean, and there is another tracking station in Brazil that did not ever get a signal from it.
|
|
As Kevin and Curtis describe the final moments of Astro-E, we see an animation of the rocket plummeting into the Pacific Ocean.
|
CURTIS: So we think it's somewhere in the South Pacific.
ILANA: We were all down. I remember I couldn't even drive home, I mean, I got a ride home.
KEVIN: We all went out for karaoke and sang and cried with each other.
CURTIS: It was like a death in the family, here. |
|
We see a series of photographs of Astro-E team members from the US and Japan, working together and having fun.
|
KEVIN: You know it was just a bunch of hardware and so what, but then I realized that, it meant that I wasn't going to get to see these people again... maybe for a very long time.
|
|
An airplane lands on a runway as the team members talk about the new proposal.
We see fingers typing on a keyboard and the pages of the proposal.
|
KEVIN: Well, by the time I flew back from Japan, we were all feeling a little better, because by then we had decided that we needed to write a proposal
ILANA: We got an e-mail saying, "Hey, there is a meeting tomorrow. Enough mourning now we are back to work."
KEVIN: Well these things usually take two or three months to write but we figured we could do it in a week.
CURTIS: The entire proposal was put together in a week's time and it has become a model of proposals.
ILANA: For me I think it was the most intense experience in working with a group of people that I ever had.
NARRATOR: That intensity paid off - they met the deadline. Their proposal so impressed NASA management, that they awarded the team their new mission.
|
|
We see a photograph of the whole Astro-E team, followed by multiple artists' conceptions of the Astro-E2 satellite. As the narrator finishes his introduction, we see the title of the video.
|
CURTIS: And then the Japanese proposed a re-flight of ASTRO-E. We would call it Astro-E2.
NARRATOR: The American and Japanese space agencies decided to combine the two missions, reuniting the ASTRO-E team, setting them on a course to build the coolest X-ray satellite: Astro-E2. |
