Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




VENUSIAN HEAT
Bad weather postpones Japan rocket launch
by Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP) May 18, 2010


Japan on Tuesday postponed the launch of a rocket due to deploy an experimental "space yacht" propelled by solar particles because of bad weather at the launch site, officials said.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) decided on the delay six minutes before the scheduled launch of the H-IIA rocket, set for 6:44 am (2144 GMT Monday), as the weather at the Tanegashima space centre in southern Japan worsened.

"There is a risk of thunderstorms," a JAXA official said.

The rocket was to blast off with "space yacht" Ikaros -- an acronym for Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation of the Sun -- which is propelled by the pressure of sunlight particles bouncing off its sail.

The launch would take place on Friday at the earliest, Jiji press and other local media reported.

Ikaros, which has cost 1.5 billion yen (16 million dollars) to develop, will be the first use of the technology in deep space. Past experiments have been limited to unfolding its sail in orbits around the Earth.

The flexible sails, which are thinner than a human hair, are also equipped with thin-film solar cells to generate electricity to create "a hybrid technology of electricity and pressure", according to JAXA.

The technology could enable space travel without fuel as long as there is sunlight, its developers say.

The name of the spacecraft alludes to Icarus, the figure from Greek mythology who flew too close to the sun and fell into the sea.

The same rocket was also due to launch Japan's first satellite bound for Venus, called the Akatsuki, or PLANET-C, which will work closely with Venus Express, a satellite sent earlier by the European Space Agency.

earlier related report
Japan to launch Venus probe and solar sail
Tokyo (AFP) May 17, 2010 - Japan was set to launch its first Venus probe Tuesday, using a rocket that will deploy an experimental "space yacht" propelled by solar particles bouncing off its kite-shaped sail.

The H-IIA rocket was positioned at the Tanegashima space centre in southern Japan in fair weather Monday for its lift-off the next day at 6:44 am (2144 GMT Monday), said the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

It will blast off with the "space yacht" Ikaros -- an acronym for Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation of the Sun -- which moves thanks to the pressure of sunlight particles hitting its square sail.

Ikaros, which has cost 1.5 billion yen (16 million dollars) to develop, will be the first use of the technology in deep space, as past experiments have been limited to unfolding its sail in orbits around the Earth.

The experimental spacecraft's sail, thinner than a human hair, is also equipped with thin-film solar cells to generate electricity, creating what JAXA calls "a hybrid technology of electricity and pressure".

The technology could enable space travel without fuel as long as there is sunlight, its developers say.

JAXA plans to control the path of Ikaros by changing the angle at which sunlight particles bounce off the silver-coloured sail.

Ikaros will initially be a short cylindrical shape when it is released into space, when it will extend its sail, which measures 14 metres (46 feet) on each side and 20 metres diagonally.

Its name alludes to Icarus, the figure from Greek mythology who flew too close to the sun and fell into the sea, but a JAXA official has promised that "this Ikaros will not fly into the sun".

The H-IIA rocket -- Japan's primary space launch vehicle, developed by JAXA and manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries -- will also launch Japan's first satellite bound for Venus.

The Venus Climate Orbiter PLANET-C, nicknamed Akatsuki, which means "Dawn" in Japanese, will work closely with the Venus Express, a satellite sent earlier by the European Space Agency.

The box-shaped probe with two solar array paddles is expected to arrive at Venus in December and observe the planet in an elliptical orbit, from a distance of between 300 and 80,000 kilometres (186 to 49,600 miles).

Venus rotates around the sun like the Earth but is closer to the sun.

It is sometimes referred to as the Earth's sister planet because it is believed to have been born in a similar process to the Earth's formation about 4.6 billion years ago and is similar in size and mass.

But the planet has a far hotter climate, around 460 degrees Celsius (860 degrees Fahrenheit), with clouds of sulfuric acid and large amounts of carbon dioxide, which is also the primary greenhouse gas on Earth.

Scientists believe a probe of the climate of Venus will help them deepen their understanding of the formation of the Earth's environment and its future.

The H-IIA will also carry four other small satellites, developed by Japanese universities and other institutions.

.


Related Links
Venus Express News and Venusian Science






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








VENUSIAN HEAT
e2v Imaging Sensors To Study The Planet Venus On JAXA's Venus Climate Orbiter
Chelmsford, UK (SPX) May 18, 2010
On 17th May 2010, e2v Charge Coupled Device (CCD) imaging sensors are due to be launched into space on board the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Venus Climate Orbiter "Akatsuki" (formally known as PLANET-C) to study the planet Venus. e2v CCD47-20 sensors equip the spacecraft's Ultraviolet Imager (UVI). Akatsuki will use infrared light to make a detailed investigation of Venus, ... read more


VENUSIAN HEAT
Einstein And Einstein A: A Study In Crater Morphology

NASA Invites Public To Take Virtual Walk On Moon

LRO Team Helps Track Laser Signals To Russian Rover Mirror

Lunar Polar Craters May Be Electrified

VENUSIAN HEAT
NASA listens one more time for Phoenix

Opportunity Driving To Solar Energy 'Lily Pads'

Final Attempts To Hear From Mars Phoenix Scheduled

Volcanic Ash In Meridiani Planum

VENUSIAN HEAT
NASA To Fund Innovative Museum Exhibits And Planetarium Shows

Chaotic space traffic needs rules, less secrecy: US general

Orphans Of Apollo: Los Angeles Film Premiere

DLR Tests New Sharp-Edged Spacecraft

VENUSIAN HEAT
Seven More For Shenzhou

China Signs Up First Female Astronauts

China To Launch Second Lunar Probe This Year

China, Bolivia to build communications satellite

VENUSIAN HEAT
Reisman, Bowen Complete First STS-132 Spacewalk

Astronauts completes first space walk from Atlantis

Atlantis docks with space station on final mission

Boeing Provides New Antenna And Batteries For Shuttle Mission To ISS

VENUSIAN HEAT
Soyuz Ready For Integration Of Its Third Stage

NASA Uses 'Polka Dots' For Precision Measurements

Soyuz Consultation Committee Sets Inaugural Launch For Fourth Quarter Of 2010

Integration Of Soyuz' First And Second Stages Is Complete

VENUSIAN HEAT
Planet discovered lacking methane

'This Planet Tastes Funny,' According To Spitzer

Small, Ground-Based Telescope Images Three Exoplanets

Wet Rocky Planets A Dime A Dozen In The Milky Way

VENUSIAN HEAT
Redefining Electrical Current Law With The Transistor Laser

E-readers, tablet computers set to take off: BCG survey

SES WORLD SKIES Readies Orbital Maneuver To Avoid Interference From Troubled Intelsat Satellite

Raytheon Celebrates 50 Years Of Laser Technology Innovation




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement