A Satellite Launch Lights Up the Night Sky Over Japan · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

JAXA's Epsilon 2 rocket, just prior to launch on December 20, 2016. Screencap from JAXA official YouTube channel.
Thanks to a nighttime sky and good weather, a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) satellite launch on December 20 provided onlookers with an excellent view and plenty of images shared on social media.
JAXA successfully sent off the Epsilon solid-fuel rocket from the Uchinoura Space Center in southwest Japan with the purpose of launching a satellite that will study Earth's radiation belts. JAXA's Epsilon rocket programme is also intended to speed up and reduce the costs of launching satellites into space.
イプシロンロケット2号機。
打上げ成功‼️
写真も成功‼️
おめでとうございます٩(^‿^)۶#イプシロン#ロケット#内之浦宇宙空間観測所 pic.twitter.com/Z3jSoGox1B
— 鮫島雄也 (@yuya_sameshima) December 20, 2016
The Epsilon 2 rocket:
Launch is GO!!
Photos are also GO!!
Congratulations to everyone! (^‿^) #epsilon #rocket #uchiura space center
【夜空に美しい光跡】打ち上げが成功したイプシロン２号機を地上や上空から撮影した写真をアップしています。機体が見えなくなったあとの星と煙の夜空も美しい。　#イプシロン　#Epsilon　https://t.co/Wuhvsr2GcN pic.twitter.com/iSD9BFwQ3j
— 朝日新聞デジタル天文部 (@asahi_tenmon) December 20, 2016
“A beautiful glow in the nighttime sky.” Asahi Shimbun Digital has uploaded aerial and ground-based photos of the successful Epsilon 2 launch. After the rocket faded from view in the night, the stars and the rocket plume were beautiful in the night sky.
The nighttime launch offered a sight to onlookers from all over southern Kyushu, a large island in western Japan. Some had ringside seats in Kimotsuki, the small village that hosts the JAXA launch facility.
「感動してうるっとました」。初飛行を成功させてから約３年３カ月。イプシロン２号機打ち上げに１千人超のロケットファンが集まりました。　#イプシロン　#Epsilon　https://t.co/PUxEM4SKmE pic.twitter.com/In8ojz2fMV
— 朝日新聞デジタル天文部 (@asahi_tenmon) December 20, 2016
“It was really impressive.” It has been approximately three years and three months since the first Epsilon rocket was successfully launched. This time, more than a thousand rocket fans gathered to watch the launch of Epsilon 2.
内之浦漁港からのイプシロン#イプシロン2号機 pic.twitter.com/vp6GYa21bc
— ゆういちろう (@yuuitirou528) December 20, 2016
A view of the Epsilon 2 launch of Uchinoura fishing port [about two kilometers from the launch site].
However, the launch could also be seen in the city of Kagoshima, about 50 kilometers to the northeast.
#イプシロン ちょいズレてる笑 pic.twitter.com/AEKCw49Tm2
— はらさきやま (@bigmakers) December 20, 2016
We were located quite a ways away from the launch, lol.
一応イプシロン撮れたけど、、、
仕事終わって打ち上げまで時間なくて、ロケハンすらしてなかったから、こんなんしか撮れんかったよｗｗｗ#イプシロン#内之浦 pic.twitter.com/G0wcnHKppK
— ウルフ99 (@WolfRXM2) December 20, 2016
My attempt at a photo of the Epsilon launch…
I didn't have much time after I got off work to find a spot to shoot the launch, so this is all I was able to capture, lol.
More photos and videos of the launch can be seen by exploring the hashtags #イプシロン (Epsilon), #ロケット (rocket) and #内之浦 (Uchinoura).