Rocket Girls

Rocket Girls (ロケットガール, Roketto Gāru) is a Japanese light novel series by Hōsuke Nojiri. Set in the Solomon Islands, it follows the exploits of high-school girl Yukari Morita, who is pressed into service as an astronaut by a private Japanese space company called the Solomon Space Association when it is unable to build a rocket that can lift the weight of an adult male.

For the British independent record label, see Rocket Girl. For the Chinese girl group, see Rocket Girls (band).
Rocket Girls
ロケットガール
(Roketto Gāru)
GenreAdventure, Comedy, Science fiction
Light novel
Written byHōsuke Nojiri
Published byFujimi Shobo
English publisherViz Media
MagazineMonthly Dragon Magazine
DemographicMale
Original run25 March 1995 – 25 August 2007
Volumes4
Anime television series
Directed byHiroshi Aoyama
Written byRika Nakase
Music byShinkichi Mitsumune
StudioMook Animation
DLE
Licensed by
Original networkWOWOW
Original run 21 February 2007 – 17 May 2007
Episodes12

Rocket Girls was adapted into a 12-episode anime television series that aired between February and May 2007. It was produced with the assistance of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, which included astronaut Naoko Yamazaki voicing herself in Episode 7.[1] Bandai Entertainment had the license and released a subtitled-only Complete Collection DVD on October 28, 2008, before it closed doors in 2011. Sentai Filmworks announced on September 27, 2018, that it will release the series on a subtitled-only SD-BD set on January 15, 2019.[2]

Characters

More characters are listed on the Japanese Wikipedia page: ja:ロケットガール

Spacecraft

LS-5 Rocket
Height Diameter Liftoff mass Liftoff thrust Payload to LEO
21.0m 2.4m 116.6t 140.0t 1.1t

The LS-5 is a multistage expendable rocket used by the Solomon Space Association (SSA) to launch the first Japanese manned spaceflight. Although older than the LS-7, this rocket has had more successful launches. This rocket was also used to test the new hybrid-fuel. Three rockets of this type has been constructed so far. Their Command Module (CM) have been called Tanpopo (Dandelion) and Coconut.

LS-7 Rocket
Height Diameter Liftoff mass Liftoff thrust Payload to LEO
31.0m 2.5m 328.0t 259.2t 2.3t

The LS-7 was a multistage expendable rocket used by the Solomon Space Association (SSA). However, after several failed launches, the rocket was retired and replaced by the older LS-5.

List of light novels
# Title Japan
English Japanese Release date ISBN
01 High School Girl, Lift off! 女子高生、リフトオフ! March 1995 ISBN 4-8291-2618-3
October 2006 ISBN 4-8291-1851-2
02 Angels' Well that Ends Well 天使は結果オーライ December 1996 ISBN 4-8291-2723-6
November 2006 ISBN 4-8291-1875-X
03 Fly to the Moon with Me 私と月につきあって August 1999 ISBN 4-8291-2896-8
January 2007 ISBN 978-4-8291-1882-5
04 Rendezvous with the Witch 魔法使いとランデブー August 2007 ISBN 978-4-8291-1919-8

The anime adaption covers titles 1 and 2.

Viz Media released the first volume with English translation in 2010.[3] ISBN 978-1-4215-3642-2

Episode list
#TitleOriginal airdate
1"Destiny"
 (ディスティニィ)		February 21, 2007 (2007-02-21)
Yukari Morita secretly visits the Solomon Islands during summer vacation to search for her missing father, Hiroshi, who disappeared on her mother's honeymoon. Meanwhile, the Solomon Islands Space Association (SSA) latest rocket, the LS7 has another launch failure. If they don't succeed soon, their budget will get canceled. The SSA director, Nasuda Isao, meets Yukari after tracking down an escaped astronaut. He talks her into becoming an astronaut on the LS5, a more reliable rocket that does not have enough power to lift a full adult.
2"Assembly"
 (アッセンブリ)		February 28, 2007 (2007-02-28)
Nasuda offers to help Yukari search for her father while she works for him as an astronaut, telling her "It's so simple even monkeys can do it!" Her acceptance is followed by embarrassing medical examinations, continuous training, live-fire weapons training, and the discovery she has to wear a 3 millimeters thick spacesuit. During her survival jungle training she finds a local tribe led by her long lost father. As a delay tactic, he promises to return to Japan with her if Yukari agrees to go on one space mission. Yukari also meets Matsuri, her half sister. The director quickly recruits her to be Yukari's backup astronaut.
3"Launch Pad"
 (ランチパッド)		March 7, 2007 (2007-03-07)
Tests of the new rocket fuel go consistently and catastrophically wrong, but the director hides the events from Yukari and Matsuri. With Matsuri now an astronaut trainee, Yukari attempts to gain weight and show a poor attitude in order to be kicked off the program.
4"Count Down"
 (カウントダウン)		March 14, 2007 (2007-03-14)
Yukari suddenly decides to take a hands-on attitude to her job, and gains entry to the capsule construction site. She learns of the conservative philosophy of space vehicle construction. When she then finds out about the radical and unsuccessful fuel tests, she begins a hunger strike.
5"Ignition"
 (イグニッション)		March 21, 2007 (2007-03-21)
Yukari's unshakable mother arrives and sets the agenda for the upcoming launches. Yukari and Matsuri are introduced to the media ahead of the first launch, which is repeatedly delayed.
6"Control"
 (コントロール)		March 28, 2007 (2007-03-28)
During the first mission, Yukari's capsule suffers a serious problem. Matsuri is launched in another rocket to provide some extra oxygen as the ground crew tries to determine a solution.
7"Gravity"
 (グラヴィティ)		April 5, 2007 (2007-04-05)
The astronauts land in Yukari's old high school. Akane, a top student at the school, provides vital help in preserving one of the space experiments taken on the first launch. As Yukari has fulfilled her promise of going into space once, she plans to go back to school just as Akane, impressed by Yukari's attitude and accomplishments, expresses a desire to go to space.
8"Separation"
 (セパレーション)		April 12, 2007 (2007-04-12)
Akane starts astronaut training, but she fails a number of physical tests.
9"Kick Motor"
 (キックモーター)		April 19, 2007 (2007-04-19)
Yukari is heartbroken at hearing that Akane left the training program, but the director and the rest of the SSA staff are actually hiding the truth from her.
10"Orbiter"
 (オービター)		April 26, 2007 (2007-04-26)
The United States space shuttle Atlantis is preparing to launch the Pluto probe Orpheus, but they lose a vital part within the tight confines of the probe and are unable to extract it. The SSA begins planning a rescue mission using their new two person capsule named Mangosteen.
11"Turn Start"
 (ターンスタート)		May 10, 2007 (2007-05-10)
Akane is able to extract the part, and she and Yukari earn the respect of the Atlantis crew. But the Orpheus launches due to a testing fault, and ends up in a very deep orbit, unable to begin its mission. The crews of the Atlantis and Mangosteen create a desperate plan to rescue the probe.
12"Rocket Girls"
 (ロケットガール)		May 17, 2007 (2007-05-17)
Yukari and Akane reach the Orpheus, but the return trip may be too much for the Mangosteen.

OP/ED songs
  • Opening: "RISE" by ICHIKO
  • Ending (#1): "Ashite Iki no Bus ni Notte" by misae (eps. 1–11)
  • Ending (#2): "Waratte!" ("Smile!") by ICHIKO (ep. 12)

References
  1. Credits to Rocket Girls episode 7.
  2. Ressler, Karen (September 27, 2018). "Sentai Filmworks Licenses Rocket Girls Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  3. Viz's page on Rocket Girls Archived 2012-03-31 at the Wayback Machine

Further reading
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