Solar-B
Solar-B

Hinode, Japanese for "Sunrise" and formerly Solar-B, is a solar satellite mission developed, launched, and operated by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) -- a division of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) -- in collaboration with space agency partners from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), the United Kingdom, and the United States. It was launched from Uchinoura Space Center, Japan on 22 September 2006 at 21:36 UTC (23 September, 06:36 JST). First light images were captured on 28 October 2006. The dry weight of the satellite is ~700 kg. It was launched with an additional 170 km of thruster gas for maintaining a polar, sun-synchronous orbit for at least two years. Two solar panels provide 1000 watts of power. The spacecraft consists of three instruments: the Solar Optical Telescope (SOT), the Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS), and the X-Ray Telescope. The Focal Plane Package is part of SOT.