MTSAT are a series of weather and aviation control satellites. They are geostationary satellites. They are owned and operated by the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), and provide coverage for the hemisphere centred on 140° East; this includes Japan and Australia who are the principal users of the satellite imagery that MTSAT provides. They replace the GMS-5 satellite, also known as Himawari 5 (“himawari” or “ひまわり” meaning “sunflower”). They can provide imagery in five wavelength bands — visible and four infrared, including the water vapour channel. The visible light camera has a resolution of 1 km; the infrared cameras have 4 km (resolution is lower away from the equator at 140° East. They spacecraft have a planned lifespan of five years. MTSAT-1 and 1R were built by Space Systems/Loral. MTSAT-2 was built by Mitsubishi A weather satellite is a type of artificial satellite that is primarily used to monitor the weather and/or climate of the Earth. ... A geostationary orbit (abbreviated GEO) is a circular orbit in the Earths equatorial plane, any point on which revolves about the Earth in the same direction and with the same period as the Earths rotation. ... The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (国土交通省; Kokudo-kōtsū-shō) is one of ministries of the Japanese government. ... Japan Meteorological Agency (気象庁) is a government agency, which is a central place responsible for gathering and reporting weather data and forecasts in Japan. ... The optical spectrum (light or visible spectrum) is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the human eye. ... Image of a small dog taken in mid-infrared (thermal) light (false color) Infrared (IR) radiation is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength longer than visible light, but shorter than microwave radiation. ... Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), of Palo Alto, California, is the wholly owned manufacturing subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications. ... Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (三菱電機, Mitsubishi Denki), (TYO: 6503) based in the Mitsubishi Denki Building in Tokyo, manufactures electric equipment. ...

The launch of MTSAT-1, on a Japanese H-IIS rocket, failed on 15 November 1999 and the spacecraft was destroyed. MTSAT-1R (also known as Himawari 6) was successfully launched on a H-IIA on 26 February 2005 and became partially operational on 28 June 2005 — the aviation payload is not functional, although the Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) was not yet ready to integrate the spacecraft into its processes anyway. As of August 2005 MTSAT-2 was not scheduled for launch. If MTSAT-2 is launched successfully it will be put into hibernation until the end of MTSAT-1R’s life. November 15 is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 46 days remaining. ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday Anno Domini (or the Current Era), and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... The H-IIA is a family of liquid-fuelled rockets providing an expendable launch system for the purpose of launching satellites into geostationary orbit. ... February 26 is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2005(MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... (Some entries on this page have been duplicated on August 1. ... 2005(MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ongoing events • 2005 Atlantic and Pacific hurricanes • 2005 Maharashtra floods • 2005 Gujarat Flood • Expo 2005 in Aichi, Japan • Fuel prices • Gomery Comm. ...

References

• JMA Satellite Activities (accessed August 13, 2005)
• MTSAT information from Australian Bureau of Meteorology (accessed August 13, 2005)
• Gunter’s Space Page:
  • MTSat 1, 1R (Himawari 6)
  • MTSat 2
• Loral.com: Loral-built MTSAT-1R multi-functional satellite succesfully launched