The environment of Venus is very harsh; the atmosphere of Venus includes 96% carbon dioxide and is filled with clouds of sulfuric acid, resulting in a surface temperature of 460°C.
Under the direction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), NEC participated in the total system development, manufacturing and testing and operations for AKATSUKI, the Venus Climate Orbiter, that will unveil the mysteries of this atmosphere.
In this interview, Shinya Matsuura, a nonfiction writer puts his talents to use to ask penetrating questions for the AKATSUKI development and operation engineers, in order to reveal how the technologies of NEC, a company with proven experience in spacecraft development and operation, including HAYABUSA, and the ideas of NEC developers are being put to use for AKATSUKI, as well as what NEC's future goals are.
Under the direction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), NEC participated in the total system development, manufacturing and testing and operations for AKATSUKI, the Venus Climate Orbiter, that will unveil the mysteries of this atmosphere.
In this interview, Shinya Matsuura, a nonfiction writer puts his talents to use to ask penetrating questions for the AKATSUKI development and operation engineers, in order to reveal how the technologies of NEC, a company with proven experience in spacecraft development and operation, including HAYABUSA, and the ideas of NEC developers are being put to use for AKATSUKI, as well as what NEC's future goals are.
Tale 4: Following in the Footsteps of a Lost Pioneer to Reach Venus
Kozo Otani, operations planning support software development and operations engineer, NEC Aerospace Systems
Released February 22, 2011
- In order to control the five on-board cameras that are used to capture images of Venus, new operations planning support software, PCNAV, was introduced for Akatsuki. PCNAV is a tool for effectively and efficiently observing Venus after Akatsuki enters its orbit. An engineer was interviewed to reveal the story behind PCNAV’s development.
Tale 3: LIR can capture even night clouds
Ryouichi Kashikawa, LIR Engineer, NEC TOSHIBA Space Systems
Released February 14, 2011
- Akatsuki is equipped with an LIR (long-wave infrared) camera that can investigate temperature distribution by capturing images of the clouds on Venus. Various problems - such as radiation and noise - had to be solved during development in order to obtain good observation data from Venus. A space camera expert reveals the story behind the LIR’s development.
Tale 2: Connecting Venus and Earth with a Flat Antenna
Antenna engineer: Osamu Amano, NEC TOSHIBA Space Systems
Released December 20, 2010
- Because Akatsuki is bound for Venus, which is exposed to strong sunlight, a parabolic antenna that condenses the sunlight and causes a very high temperature cannot be used. Therefore, a new flat antenna was developed to ensure reliable communication, given the severe environmental conditions of Venus. An engineer who has been in antenna development for 30 years was interviewed to reveal new information about the development of the flat antenna.
Tale 1: From Hayabusa to Akatsuki
Takeshi Oshima, Project Manager, NEC Corporation
Masatoshi Ebara, Systems Engineer, NEC Corporation
Released December 6, 2010
- Two engineers at NEC have been the driving force behind the Akatsuki project. the project manager who oversaw overall development of the probe, and the systems engineer in charge of planning and development for the overall satellite system. These engineers are interviewed below.
