TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is scheduled to launch the Akatsuki spacecraft and IKAROS solar sail on a 6-month journey to the planet Venus. As of right now, Akatsuki and IKAROS are mated together at the Spacecraft and Fairing Assembly building at JAXA’s Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan. By the end of this week, the two spacecraft should be encapsulated by the large payload fairing of the H-IIA launch vehicle that will send the two probes into space. After the encapsulation, the payload should then be transported to the Vehicle Assembly Building where it will be attached to the H-IIA itself. This is the last preparation that needs to be done before the H-IIA rocket is finally brought out to the launch pad for its May 17 (May 18 if you actually live in Japan) liftoff.
To get quick updates on Akatsuki and IKAROS, you can visit their Twitter pages here and here. I must warn you though; when you translate the Tweets using the Google translator, some of the messages sound like they contain sexual innuendos. Those crazy Japanese.
All images courtesy of JAXA
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