is a Japanese light novel series by HÃ Âsuke 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.
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. Bandai Entertainment had the license and released a subtitled-only Complete Collection DVD on October 28, 2008, before it closed its doors in 2011. Sentai Filmworks announced on September 27, 2018, that it would release the series on a subtitled-only SD-BD set on January 15, 2019.
More characters are listed in the Japanese Wikipedia article: .
The LS-5 is a multistage expendable rocket used by the Solomon Space Association (SSA) to launch the first Japanese crewed spaceflight. It consists of a central body with a single engine, flanked by two booster thrusters. It does not appear to have an upper stage; the capsule and its service module are mounted directly on the central body via a conical inter-stage skirt.
A second version with four booster thrusters appeared at the end of the series to carry a tandem two-seater version of the space capsule.
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.
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. In the anime, this rocket is a line-for-line copy of the H-IIA rocket.
The anime adaption covers titles 1 and 2.
Viz Media released the first volume with English translation in 2010.