Mission type Comet flyby SATCAT no. 15464 Reference system Heliocentric Period 1 years Launch date 7 January 1985 | COSPAR ID 1985-001A Rocket Mu-3S-II Inclination 0.07° Launch mass 138.1 kg Launch site Uchinoura Space Center | |
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Last contact Data: November 15, 1995 (1995-11-16)
Beacon: January 8, 1999 Operator Institute of Space and Astronautical Science Similar Suisei, International Cometary, Vega 1, Hiten, Nozomi | ||
eng sub big bang on sakigake
Sakigake (さきがけ, lit. "pioneer" or "pathfinder"), known before launch as MS-T5, was Japan's first interplanetary spacecraft, and the first deep space probe to be launched by any country other than the USA or the Soviet Union. It aimed to demonstrate the performance of the new launch vehicle, test the schemes of the first escape from the Earth gravitation for Japan on engineering basis, and observe space plasma and magnetic field in interplanetary space. Sakigake was also supposed to get references for scientists. Early measurements would be used to improve the mission of the Suisei probe several months later.
Contents
- eng sub big bang on sakigake
- Sakigake okapi
- Design
- Launch
- Halley encounter
- Giacobini Zinner encounter
- End of mission
- References
Sakigake was developed by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science for the National Space Development Agency (both of which are now part of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA). It became a part of the Halley Armada together with Suisei, the Soviet/French Vega probes, the ESA Giotto and the NASA International Cometary Explorer, to explore Halley's Comet during its 1986 sojourn through the inner solar system.
Sakigake okapi
Design
Unlike its twin Suisei, it carried no imaging instruments in its instrument payload.
Launch
Sakigake was launched January 7, 1985 from Kagoshima Space Center by M-3SII-1 launch vehicle.
Halley encounter
It carried out a flyby of Halley's Comet on March 11, 1986 at a distance of 6.99 million km.
Giacobini-Zinner encounter
There were plans for the spacecraft to go on to an encounter with 21P/Giacobini-Zinner in 1998 but they had to be abandoned due to lack of propellant.
End of mission
Telemetry contact was lost on 15 November 1995, though a beacon signal continued to be received until 7 January 1999.