IKAROS

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This article is about the Japanese spacecraft. For other uses, see Icarus (disambiguation).
IKAROS
IKAROS model
Model of the IKAROS spacecraft, not to scale.
Operator JAXA
Flyby of Venus
Satellite of The Sun
Orbital insertion date 2010-05-21
Launch date 2010-05-20 21:58:22 UTC
Carrier rocket H-IIA 202
Launch site Tanegashima Space Center
Tanegashima, Japan
Mission duration ~0.5 years
elapsed: 1 year, 8 months and 10 days
COSPAR ID 2010-020E
Homepage http://www.jspec.jaxa.jp/e/activity/ikaros.html
Mass 315 kg
References: [1][2][3][4]

IKAROS (Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation Of the Sun) is a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) experimental spacecraft. The spacecraft was launched on 21 May, 2010, aboard an H-IIA rocket, together with the Akatsuki (Venus Climate Orbiter) probe and four other small spacecraft. IKAROS is the first spacecraft to successfully demonstrate solar-sail technology in interplanetary space.[3][5]

On December 8, 2010, IKAROS passed by Venus at about 80,800 km distance, completing the planned mission successfully, and entered its extended operation phase.[6][7][8][9]

Contents

[edit] Purpose

The IKAROS probe is the world's first spacecraft to use solar sailing as the main propulsion. It plans to demonstrate four key technologies (comments in parentheses refer to figure):

  1. Deployment and control of a large, thin solar sail membrane (blue areas numbered 3)
  2. Thin-film solar cells integrated into the sail to power the payload (black rectangles numbered 4)
  3. Measurement of acceleration due to radiation pressure on the solar sail
  4. Attitude control via variable reflectance liquid crystal panels (orange rectangles numbered 2)

The mission also includes investigations of aspects of interplanetary space, such as the gamma-ray burst, solar wind and cosmic dust.[10]

The probe's ALADDIN instrument (ALDN-S and ALDN-E) measured the variation in dust density[11] while its Gamma-Ray Burst Polarimeter (GAP) measured the polarization of gamma-ray bursts during its six month cruise.[12]

If successful, IKAROS is to be followed by a 50 m (160 ft) sail, intended to journey to Jupiter and the Trojan asteroids, later in the decade.[13]

[edit] Design

IKAROS sail schematic diagram:
1 (blue square on a line) Tip mass 0.5 kg, 1 of 4
2 (orange rectangle) Liquid crystal device, 1 of 80
3 (blue square) Membrane 7.5 μm thick, 20 metres diameter
4 (black rectangle) Solar cells 25 μm thick
5 (yellow and blue lines) Tethers
6 (blue disc) Main body
7 (yellow dots) Instruments
IKAROS spaceprobe in flight (artist's depiction)

The square sail, deployed via a spinning motion using 0.5 kg tip masses (1 in key at right), is 20 m (66 ft) on the diagonal and is made of a 7.5-micrometre (0.0075 mm) thick sheet of polyimide (3 in key at right). A thin-film solar array is embedded in the sail (4 in key at right). PowerFilm, Inc. provided the thin-film solar array.[14] Eighty blocks of LCD panels are embedded in the sail,[15] whose reflectance can be adjusted for attitude control (2 in key at right). The sail also contains eight dust counters on the opposite face as part of the science payload.[16][17]

[edit] Mission progress

IKAROS was successfully launched together with Akatsuki (the Venus Climate Orbiter) aboard an H-IIA rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center on 21 May 2010.

IKAROS spun at 20–25 revolutions per minute and finished unfurling its sail on 10 June 2010.[18][19][20] The craft contains two tiny ejectable cameras, DCAM1 and DCAM2. DCAM2 was used to visualise the sail after deployment on 14 July 2010.[21]

Acceleration and attitude control were successfully tested during the remaining six month voyage to Venus. On 9 July 2010, JAXA confirmed that IKAROS is being accelerated by its solar sail,[22] and on 23 July announced successful attitude control.[23]

IKAROS continues to spin at approximately 2 rpm, requiring the LCD panels to be cycled at that rate for attitude control.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Mori et al. (2009)
  2. ^ "Small Solar Power Sail Demonstrator "IKAROS"". JAXA. http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/ikaros/index_e.html. Retrieved 2010-10-01. 
  3. ^ a b Stephen Clark (Thursday, 20 May 2010). "H-2A Launch Report – Mission Status Center". Spaceflight Now. http://www.spaceflightnow.com/h2a/akatsuki/status.html. Retrieved 2010-05-21. 
  4. ^ Samantha Harvey (21 May 2010). "Solar System Exploration: Missions: By Target: Venus: Future: Akatsuki". NASA. http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/profile.cfm?MCode=Akatsuki. Retrieved 2010-05-21. 
  5. ^ "Launch Day of the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 17(H-IIA F17)". JAXA. March 3, 2010. http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2010/03/20100303_h2af17_e.html. Retrieved 2010-05-07. 
  6. ^ "今日の IKAROS(12/10)　- Daily Report - Dec 10, 2010" (in Japanese). IKAROS Blog. JAXA. December 10, 2010. http://www.isas.jaxa.jp/home/IKAROS-blog/?itemid=783. Retrieved January 22, 2011. 
  7. ^ "2010年の締めくくり(12/26)　- Daily Report - Dec 26, 2010" (in Japanese). IKAROS Blog. JAXA. December 26, 2010. http://www.isas.jaxa.jp/home/IKAROS-blog/?itemid=796. Retrieved January 22, 2011. 
  8. ^ "宇宙帆船イカロス、お疲れさま…実験終え「人工惑星」に" (in Japanese). Asahi Shimbun. December 10, 2010. http://www.asahi.com/special/space/TKY201012100622.html. Retrieved January 22, 2011. 
  9. ^ Mori, Osamu (January 26, 2011). "小型ソーラー電力セイル実証機（IKAROS）の定常運用終了報告" (in Japanese) (PDF). JAXA. http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2011/01/20110126_sac_ikaros.pdf. Retrieved February 2, 2011. 
  10. ^ "小型ソーラー電力セイル実証機「IKAROS（イカロス）」のガンマ線バーストの観測成功について" (in Japanese). JAXA. 2010-07-14. http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2010/07/20100714_ikaros_j.html. Retrieved 2010-07-15. 
  11. ^ Yano, H.; et al. "COSMIC DUST DETECTION BY THE IKAROS-ARRAYED LARGE-AREA DUST DETECTORS IN INTERPLANETARY SPACE (ALADDIN) FROM THE EARTH TO VENUS". 42nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2011). http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2011/pdf/2647.pdf. Retrieved 14 February 2011. 
  12. ^ Yonetoku, D.; et al (26 October 2010). "Gamma-Ray Burst Polarimeter - GAP - aboard the Small Solar Power Sail Demonstrator IKAROS". arXiv:1010.5305 [astro-ph.IM]. 
  13. ^ "IKAROS Project". JAXA. 2008. http://www.jspec.jaxa.jp/e/activity/ikaros.html. Retrieved 2010-07-12. "The second mission will take place in the late 2010s. It will involve a medium-sized solar power sail with a diameter of 50m, and will have integrated ion-propulsion engines. The destinations of the spacecraft will be Jupiter and the Trojan asteroids." 
  14. ^ Claire M. Umali (Tuesday, May 04, 2010). "Japan tests power of solar sails in deep space". EcoSeed. http://www.ecoseed.org/en/technology/emerging-renewables/article/28-emerging-renewables/7067-japan-tests-power-of-solar-sails-in-deep-space. Retrieved 25 January 2011. 
  15. ^ "Small Solar Power Sail Demonstrator 'IKAROS': Successful Attitude Control by Liquid Crystal Device". Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). July 23, 2010 (JST). http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2010/07/20100723_ikaros_e.html. 
  16. ^ "Small Solar Power Sail Demonstrator". JAXA. 11 March 2010. http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/ikaros/index_e.html. Retrieved 2010-05-07. 
  17. ^ "IKAROS Project". JAXA. 2008. http://www.jspec.jaxa.jp/e/activity/ikaros.html. Retrieved 30 March 2010. 
  18. ^ Edwards, Lin (11 June 2010). "IKAROS unfurls first ever solar sail in space". PhysOrg. http://www.physorg.com/news195460006.html. Retrieved 2010-06-11. 
  19. ^ Staff writers (11 June 2010). "Japanese Spacecraft Deploys Solar Sail". Space.com. http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/japan-spacecraft-deploys-solar-sail-100611.html. Retrieved 2010-06-11. 
  20. ^ Amos, Jonathan (11 June 2010). "Japan unfurls Ikaros solar sail in space". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science_and_environment/10293284.stm. Retrieved 25 January 2011. 
  21. ^ Staff writers (16 June 2010). "Mini-camera pictures Japan's Ikaros solar sail". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/science_and_environment/10328584.stm. Retrieved 2010-06-17. 
  22. ^ About the confirmation of photon acceleration of "IKAROS" the small solar-sail demonstrating craft. (in Japanese). JAXA website press release (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). 9 July 2010. http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2010/07/20100709_ikaros_j.html. Retrieved 25 January 2011. "Graph suggests approx 1.1mN force" 
  23. ^ "Small Solar Power Sail Demonstrator 'IKAROS'Successful Attitude Control by Liquid Crystal Device" (Press release). Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). 23 July 2010. http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2010/07/20100723_ikaros_e.html. Retrieved 25 January 2011. 

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