NSSDCA/COSPAR ID: 2006-005A
Akari, also known by its pre-launch name Astro-F, is a Japanese (JAXA/ISAS) astrophysics mission that was launched by an M-5 rocket from Uchinoura Space Center (at the southern tip of Kyushu Island) at 21:28 UT on 21 February 2006. (The rocket also released a 3.6 kg picosatellite, named Cute 1.7 to train students at the Tokyo Institute of Technology.) The 955 kg satellite carries a Ritchey-Chretien, F/6.1 infrared telescope with aperture 67 cm and focal length 420 cm. The primary mirror is a gold-coated silicon carbide. It carries two focal plane instruments kept at a temperature of 6 K (-450 degrees F) by 170 liter of liquid helium. The helium supply will last for 550 days of observations. Akari is expected to provide a significant advance over the results from the earlier NASA/ESA mission, IRAS (1983-004A).
Launch Date: 2006-02-21
Launch Vehicle: M-5
Launch Site: Uchinoura Space Center, Japan
Mass: 955 kg
Questions and comments about this spacecraft can be directed to: Coordinated Request and User Support Office
Akari project (JAXA)