Akatsuki Venus Orbital Insertion

[Stone Blue]

2 mins...

[Frida Space]

No confirmation yet of burn start signal. Not even from the Japanese press on site at the mission control center. But the engineers looked relaxed.

[thetechgeek4]

60 seconds left in burn, velocity at 9.04 KM/S

[Frida Space]

CUTOFF!

[Findthepin1]

It looks like Saturn without the rings. The burn is done!

Edited December 7, 2015 by Findthepin1

[Frida Space]

Now attitude change for potential second try (if needed; evaluation of data should now be underway to determine just that)

[Findthepin1]

They misspelled attitude. I am watching all this happen while listening to Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror". The probe will make a (velocity) change

Edited December 7, 2015 by Findthepin1

[Stone Blue]

Over 2km/s velocity dropped...Still dropping...

So, I'm waiting to see the blue orbit line connect.... Does that mean its A/P has dropped enough?...lol

Edited December 7, 2015 by Stone Blue

[Frida Space]

8 minutes ago, Stone Blue said:

Over 2km/s velocity dropped...Still dropping...

Just to clarify, that's a simulation. If things haven't gone as planned, the velocity should be higher. But let's hope everything went well! We need a Venus orbiter so bad...

VOI C3 window closes in 540 seconds.

3 min to know the result of burn!!

Edited December 7, 2015 by Frida Space

[Findthepin1]

Would it be able to detect life in the upper atmosphere?

Also, what's the cheapest possible Venus mission?

[Frida Space]

They're applauding!!

[Stone Blue]

WELL???!?!??...Was the burn sufficient?

[Frida Space]

1 minute ago, Stone Blue said:

WELL???!?!??...Was the burn sufficient?

No confirmation yet, but reports of engineers applauding from Japanese press

[thetechgeek4]

ORBIT INSERTION SUCCESS!

[Frida Space]

SHAKING HANDS!! 

"YATTA!"

We have Range and Doppler confirmation!

[Frida Space]

FYI (I just found out too), yatta = "I did it!" so definitely a positive thing to hear being shouted multiple times in the livestream.

I guess next step is press briefing at 3 UT.

[insert_name]

so what experiments will it be doing

[Frida Space]

2 minutes ago, insert_name said:

so what experiments will it be doing

From SF101:

The instrument suite is comprised of two 12 x 12° infrared imaging instruments, the first covering the 0.90, 0.97 and 1.01-micrometer wavelengths while the second is sensitive at 1.73, 2.26 and 2.32 microns. These cameras will be able to complete imaging of the deepest levels of the dense Venusian atmosphere up to the middle and lower atmosphere at the longer wavelengths. For cloud top mapping, a 12.4 x 16.4° Longwave Infrared Camera at 10 microns will be employed while the Ultraviolet Imager will also look at the cloud tops and associated motion at wavelengths of 263 and 365 nanometers. A Lightning and Airglow Camera with a 16 by 16 ° field of view will be used to capture airglows and lightning on the night side of the planet at wavelengths of 551, 553, 558, 630, and 777 nanometers.

The spacecraft’s instruments will be employed to map the high and low-altitude cloud patterns, measure the distribution of water vapor and carbon monoxide, and image the surface of the planet in the search of active volcanoes using the infrared imagers of Akatsuki that can peer through the thick clouds of the planet to detect the surface. Sulfur dioxide, a precursor to cloud formation, will be mapped with the ultraviolet imaging system and radio waves sent from Earth will be directed through the atmosphere to study its structure by looking at changes introduced into the signals.

[AngelLestat]

congrats for akatsuki..  I hope this planet start to get the attention that it deserve.

[_Augustus_]

Go Akatsuki!

[KAL 9000]

--Fist-bumps imaginary engineer-- WOO-HOO!

[PB666]

Judging by the telemetry on the animated live stream and the fact there is a pericytherion in 2'45" i woukd say they have orbital insertion, now all they have to do is lower the apoapsis. 

[Mitchz95]

Would aerobraking be viable for this mission? I know it wasn't built for it, but a really shallow pass shouldn't pose much of a threat, should it?

[PB666]

There peri is too high right now. 

[Frida Space]

Manouvre started at 23:51:29 UT, ended at 0:11:57. 1228 seconds total. 1233 planned, seems within reasonable error.

Also, this image of Venus taken by Akatsuki on December 1st: