Akatsuki (spacecraft)
JAXA mission to study Venus via orbiting probe (2010–present) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Akatsuki (あかつき, 暁, "Dawn"), also known as the Venus Climate Orbiter (VCO) and Planet-C, is a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) space probe tasked with studying the atmosphere of Venus. It was launched aboard an H-IIA 202 rocket on 20 May 2010,[7] but failed to enter orbit around Venus on 6 December 2010. After the craft orbited the Sun for five years, engineers successfully placed it into an alternative Venusian elliptic orbit on 7 December 2015 by firing its attitude control thrusters for 20 minutes and made it the first Japanese satellite orbiting Venus.[5][6][8][9]
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Mission type | Venus orbiter |
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Operator | JAXA |
COSPAR ID | 2010-020D |
SATCAT no. | 36576 |
Website | JAXA JAXA Special Site |
Mission duration | ~2 years (science phase) elapsed: 14 years and 9 days |
Spacecraft properties | |
Manufacturer | NEC Space Technologies |
Launch mass | 517.6 kg (1,141 lb)[1] |
Dry mass | 320 kg (710 lb) |
Dimensions | 1.04 m × 1.45 m × 1.44 m (3.4 ft × 4.8 ft × 4.7 ft) |
Power | >700 watts at 0.7 AU[1] |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 21 May 2010, 21:58:22 (2010-05-21UTC21:58:22Z) UTC[2] |
Rocket | H-IIA 202 |
Launch site | Tanegashima YLP-1 |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Cytherocentric |
Eccentricity | 0.971 |
Pericytherion altitude | 1,000–10,000 kilometers (620–6,210 mi) changing periodically[3] |
Apocytherion altitude | 370,000 kilometers (230,000 mi)[3] |
Inclination | 3.0° |
Period | 10.8 days[4] |
Flyby of Venus (failed insertion) | |
Closest approach | 6 December 2010, 23:49:00 UTC |
Distance | 550 kilometers (340 mi) |
Venus orbiter | |
Orbital insertion | 7 December 2015[5][6] |
By using five different cameras working at several wavelengths, Akatsuki is studying the stratification of the atmosphere, atmospheric dynamics, and cloud physics.[10][11] Astronomers working on the mission reported detecting a possible gravity wave (not to be confused with gravitational waves) in Venus' atmosphere in December 2015.[12]