The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has launched the geostationary meteorological satellite, Himawari-8, from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan.
The satellite was launched onboard Mitsubishi’s H-IIA vehicle number 25 (H-IIA F25).
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Weighing around 7,700lb, Himawari-8 separated from the rocket’s second stage approximately 28 minutes after the lift-off and was placed into a geosynchronous transfer orbit.
The satellite will be raised into geostationary orbit at a longitude of 140° E after a series of burns from the on-board propulsion system, reported NASASpaceflight.
Based around the DS-2000 satellite bus, the Himawari 8 was built by Mitsubishi Electric in partnership with Boeing. It will be operated by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).
The satellite has three payloads, including the Advanced Himawari Imager, space environment data acquisition monitor and the data collection subsystem.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataJMA official was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying that the satellite can obtain a satellite image of a typhoon once every 2.5 minutes, against the current pace of once every 30 minutes.
"Together with improvement in computer-aided analysis, we hope our forecasts of a typhoon’s future course will be more accurate."
While the Himawari 8 will complete testing in mid-2015, the Himawari 7 will reach the end of its five-year service life and will serve as backup for the new satellite.
The Himawari 8 will be joined by Himawari 9, planned for launch in 2016 and replace Himawari 8 around 2022.
Himawari 8 will then become the backup satellite until a new-generation satellite is launched in late 2020s.
Image: Himawari 8 was launched onboard Mitsubishi’s H-IIA vehicle no. 25. Photo: courtesy of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
