Spaceflight Insider

News Archive / Tagged: Akatsuki

  • Japan’s Akatsuki spacecraft detects strong winds on Venus

    Tomasz NowakowskiSeptember 2nd, 2017

    Japan’s Akatsuki spacecraft orbiting Venus has spotted extremely strong winds near the planet’s equator blowing at speeds of over 178 mph (286 km/h). The newly discovered, high-velocity winds could provide important hints about the dynamics of the Venusian atmosphere.

  • Second time’s a charm: Japanese Akatsuki spacecraft enters Venus orbit

    Tomasz NowakowskiDecember 9th, 2015

    After the first try ended in failure five years ago, Japan's first Venus Climate Orbiter, Akatsuki, successfully entered Venusian orbit on Monday, Dec. 7. Japan is only the fourth entity, behind Russia, the United States, and the European Space Agency, to place a spacecraft around Earth's nearest neighbor.

  • JAXA prepares another attempt to insert Akatsuki spacecraft into Venus orbit

    Britt RawcliffeFebruary 15th, 2015

    The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has announced that their spacecraft Akatsuki will be attempting once more to reach an orbit around Venus. The news comes almost 5 years after the spacecraft was first launched aboard their H-IIA flagship rocket out of Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. The next attempt is planned for Dec 7, […]