Japan launched a probe Friday on a two-year mission to study Venus along with a "space yacht" powered by solar sails, according to dpa. A rocket carrying the Venus orbiter Akatsuki, which means Dawn in Japanese, lifted off from the Kagoshima space centre in southern Japan, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said. "Akatsuki was lifted into orbit according to our plan, so it was perfect," Teruaki Kawai, chief of the aerospace business operations of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, was quoted by Kyodo News as saying. Mitsubishi built the H-IIA rocket carrying the probe, according to the specifications provided by the space agency. Akatsuki was manufactured by NEC Corp. Akatsuki was expected to reach Venus' orbit in December. It is to circle around the planet for two years to examine its climate. Japan spent 25 billion yen (277 million dollars) on the development of the probe. Along with Akatsuki, the space yacht Ikaros, or Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation Of Sun, and four small satellites developed by students were also put into orbit. Seiji Maehara, the minister in charge of aerospace development, stressed the significance of the launch. "It is expected that Ikaros will prove the viability of the state-of-the-art technologies aimed at using sunlight while delivering those small satellites is meaningful in that they help expand the potential of Japan's space development," Maehara said.
