| Organization | JAXA |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Orbiter |
| Satellite of | Venus |
| Orbital insertion date | December 2010 |
| Launch date | May 2010 |
| Launch vehicle | H-IIA |
| COSPAR ID | PLANET-C |
| Home page | PLANET-C page |
| Mass | 320 kg (710 lb) |
| Power | 1200W |
| Orbital elements | |
| Inclination | near equatorial |
| Apoapsis | 60,000 to 80,000 km (37,000 to 50,000 mi) |
Akatsuki (あかつき, meaning dawn), formerly known as PLANET-C and Venus Climate Orbiter (VCO), is a planned Japanese unmanned spacecraft to explore Venus. It is currently planned for launch in May 2010, with arrival in December 2010 for a mission of two years or more. With the end of the M-5 program in 2006, Planet-C will be launched by the H-IIA (type 202).
Contents |
Design
The total mass of the spacecraft will be 640 kilograms (1,400 lb), including 320 kg (710 lb) of propellants and 34 kg (75 lb) of scientific instruments.
The main bus is a 1.6 m x 1.6 m x 1.25 m box with two solar arrays, each with an area of 1.4 square meters. The solar array panels provide over 1200 W of power in Venus orbit.
Propulsion is provided by the 500 N bi-propellant (hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide) orbital maneuvering engine and 12 mono-propellant (hydrazine) reaction control thrusters, eight with 23 N thrust and four with 3 N.
Instruments
The scientific payload consists of the Ultraviolet Imager (UVI), the Longwave Infrared Camera (LIR), the 1-μm Camera (IR1), the 2-μm Camera (IR2), and the Radio Science (RS) experiment.
Mission
Planned investigations include surface imaging with an infrared camera and experiments designed to confirm the presence of lightning and determine the existence or otherwise of current surface volcanism.
The budget for this mission is 13 billion Japanese yen (110 million US dollars) for the satellite and 12 billion yen (100 million US dollars) for the launch.
Status
During 2007 the thermal and mechanical models were evaluated. Critical design review was done between Nov. 2007 and March 2008. Currently the flight model is being manufactured.[1]
References
External links
- JAXA PLANET-C page
- PLANET-C page (Solar Terrestrial Physics Group)
- JAXA/ISAS PLANET-C site
- Presentation about PLANET-C from the VEXAG meeting in November 2005 (PDF, 2.7 MB)
- Exploring the Venusian Atmosphere - PLANET-C Venus Climate Orbiter
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