[SatNews] Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launched the first Epsilon Launch Vehicle (Epsilon-1) with the Spectroscopic Planet Observatory for Recognition of Interaction of Atmosphere (SPRINT-A) onboard at 2:00 p.m. on September 14 (Saturday), 2013 (Japan Standard Time, JST) from the Uchinoura Space Center.

The launch vehicle flew smoothly, and, at about 61 minutes and 39 seconds after liftoff, the separation of the SPRINT-A was confirmed. At the time of the launch, the weather was cloudy, a wind speed was 8.1 meters/second from the east-north-east and the temperature was 27.2 degrees Celsius.

JAXA has also confirmed that SPRINT-A has deployed its solar array paddles (SAPs), determined through data received at the Uchinoura Ground Station. The satellite is currently in good health. The SPRINT-A's nickname was also decided. It is "HISAKI" The name was chosen for the following reasons—first, "Hisaki" is the name of a cape in the Uchinoura area (the cape at the tip of the Tsushiro Peninsula) and it is the first brightened point highlighted by the rising sun in the Uchinoura area, thus the place is a symbol of a new day in Uchinoura. It is also a place for local fishermen to pray for safety, hence it is a symbol of safe navigation for boats leaving Uchinoura. Secondly, the observation targets are beyond ("saki" in Japanese) the sun ("Hi" in Japanese).