Advanced Land Observing Satellite-2 (ALOS-2), also called Daichi-2, is a Japanese
satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...
launched in 2014. Although the predecessor
ALOS
Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS), also called Daichi (a Japanese word meaning "land"), is a 3810 kg Japanese satellite launched in 2006. After five years of service, the satellite lost power and ceased communication with Earth, but ...
satellite had featured 2 optical cameras in addition to 1.2 GHz (L-band) radar, ALOS-2 had optical cameras removed to simplify construction and reduce costs. The
PALSAR-2 radar is a significant upgrade of the
PALSAR radar, allowing higher-resolution (1 x 3 m per pixel) spotlight modes in addition to the 10 m resolution survey mode inherited from the
ALOS
Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS), also called Daichi (a Japanese word meaning "land"), is a 3810 kg Japanese satellite launched in 2006. After five years of service, the satellite lost power and ceased communication with Earth, but ...
spacecraft. Also, the SPAISE2 automatic ship identification system and the Compact Infra Red Camera (CIRC) will provide supplementary data about sea-going ships and provide early warnings of missile launches.
Launch
ALOS-2 was launched from
Tanegashima
is one of the Ōsumi Islands belonging to Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The island, 444.99 km2 in area, is the second largest of the Ōsumi Islands, and has a population of 33,000 people. Access to the island is by ferry, or by air to New ...
, Japan, on 24 May 2014 by a
H-IIA rocket
H-IIA (H-2A) is an active expendable launch system operated by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) for the JAXA, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. These liquid fuel rockets have been used to launch satellites into geostationary orbit; lunar ...
.
"Japanese craft launched with night-vision mapping radar"
''Spaceflight Now'', Retrieved on 31 May 2014
Mission
The satellite contains a 1.2 GHz synthetic-aperture radar
Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) is a form of radar that is used to create two-dimensional images or three-dimensional reconstructions of objects, such as landscapes. SAR uses the motion of the radar antenna over a target region to provide fine ...
(SAR) sensor that is intended to be used for cartography, monitoring of naval traffic and disaster monitoring of Asia and the Pacific.
See also
* 2014 in spaceflight
In 2014, the maiden flight of the Angara A5, Antares 120 and Antares 130 took place.
A total of 92 orbital launches were attempted in 2014, of which 88 were successful, two were partially successful and two were failures. The year also saw ...
* Advanced Land Observation Satellite
Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS), also called Daichi (a Japanese word meaning "land"), is a 3810 kg Japanese satellite launched in 2006. After five years of service, the satellite lost power and ceased communication with Earth, but ...
(ALOS) – predecessor spacecraft
References
External links
*
ALOS-2 brochure
* by JAXA
* by JAXA
Eoportal ALOS-2 page
{{Orbital launches in 2014
Earth observation satellites of Japan
JAXA
Space synthetic aperture radar
2014 in Japan
Spacecraft launched by H-II rockets
Spacecraft launched in 2014