Press release here.
Some of you may remember the failed first attempt, which occurred five years to the day and was later determined to be the result of the main engine's nozzle breaking away entirely. It was yet another humiliation for JAXA, who had previously suffered from the total loss of its previous Mars orbiter Nozomi and the near-total write-off of its asteroid-rendezvous mission Hayabusa, which was salvaged by some truly ingenious Jerry-rigging.
The success of this particular maneuver places Akatsuki on a highly elliptical orbit, which is very much different from intended. A further minor burn will be made to refine its trajectory, but this was the major operation to actually place it in orbit around Venus, and its success represents a long awaited redemption for JAXA. It is currently the only Venus operation ongoing, with the conclusion of the Venus Climate Orbiter in 2014.
Hopefully lots of great science will come out of this price. Per aspera ad astra indeed, and all the best to them.
Some of you may remember the failed first attempt, which occurred five years to the day and was later determined to be the result of the main engine's nozzle breaking away entirely. It was yet another humiliation for JAXA, who had previously suffered from the total loss of its previous Mars orbiter Nozomi and the near-total write-off of its asteroid-rendezvous mission Hayabusa, which was salvaged by some truly ingenious Jerry-rigging.
The success of this particular maneuver places Akatsuki on a highly elliptical orbit, which is very much different from intended. A further minor burn will be made to refine its trajectory, but this was the major operation to actually place it in orbit around Venus, and its success represents a long awaited redemption for JAXA. It is currently the only Venus operation ongoing, with the conclusion of the Venus Climate Orbiter in 2014.
Hopefully lots of great science will come out of this price. Per aspera ad astra indeed, and all the best to them.
