A

David

Darling

Akebono

Akebono (Exos-D)

Akebono was a satellite launched by Japan's ISAS (Institute of Space and Astronautical Science) to make precise measurements of the way charged particles behave and are accelerated within the auroral regions of Earth's magnetosphere. It carried only one non-Japanese instrument: Canada's Suprathermal Ion Mass Spectrometer. Akebono, which means "dawn," was known before launch as Exos-D.

 

launch date Feb 21, 1989
launch vehicle M-3S
launch site Kagoshima
orbit 264 × 8,501 km × 75.1°
mass (at launch) 295 kg