Valve Failure Wrecked AKATSUKI’s Venus Orbit Attempt

JAXA's Akatsuki Venus spacecraft. (Image by Akihiro Ikeshita)

JAXA PR — JAXA made the following report at the AKATSUKI’s third investigation meeting for the Space Activities Commission on June 30.

As a result of analysis and verifications of the AKATSUKI’s anomaly cause estimated at the first and second investigation meetings, the highest possibility was found to be damage to the thruster nozzle of the orbit maneuver engine due to closure of the check valve during the orbit injection maneuver.

We will determine if we can reignite the damaged thruster nozzle through a ground test as well as an emission test of the onboard engine. Based on the results of these tests, we will prepare for an orbit injection maneuver to Venus hoping for the AKATSUKI to meet with Venus in November 2015.