TODAY’S THE DAY... Around 14 hours from now, an H-IIA launch vehicle carrying the Akatsuki spacecraft and IKAROS solar sail is scheduled to blast off from the Tanegashima Space Center (TNSC) in southern Japan. Unfortunately, judging from the weather forecast that I’ve been checking online, it might be too cloudy today to launch the two probes on their journey to Venus. In fact, things look bleak through next Sunday as there's gonna be a chance of thunderstorms hitting the TNSC area over the next several days. Akatsuki and IKAROS have till June 3 to get off the ground and head for Venus.
Here’s hoping the forecast for today won't be as dire as expected, and Akatsuki and IKAROS will be able to safely travel through deep space by the end of the day...
UPDATE (2:44 PM, PDT): As expected, the launch was scrubbed due to bad weather. The next launch opportunity may be targeted for May 21 (Japan time), but if online forecasts are anything to go by, the weather at TNSC probably won't be truly ideal for launch till May 25 (Tuesday...Japan time). Darn.
UPDATE #2 (11:26 PM, PDT): The next launch attempt for Akatsuki and IKAROS is officially set for this Thursday, May 20 at 2:58:22 PM, PDT (Friday, May 21 at 6:58:22 AM, Japan time).
All images courtesy of JAXA
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