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Japan to Limit Weather Satellite's Task to Prolong Use
By Kyodo News Service
posted: 03:33 pm ET
02 July 2001
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japan_weathersat_010702 Japan's weather satellite Himawari No. 5 will reduce by one-third the frequency of its observations in the southern hemisphere and also terminate its observations in some areas south of New Zealand, the Japan Meteorological Agency said Thursday, June 28. The agency said the decision is aimed at prolonging the life of the satellite, which was scheduled for decommissioning in March last year but which remains in operation because of the failure of the 1999 attempt to launch its successor, the Multi-functional Transport Satellite (MTSAT). The reduced observations, to begin Wednesday, will not affect domestic weather forecasting services, the agency said. But the decision may affect weather monitoring in those countries in the southern hemisphere, including Australia, which use Himawari data, it said. The Himawari satellite's monitoring coverage ranges from East Asia through Australia, according to the agency. Himawari No. 5 began reducing its coverage area in the southern hemisphere in June last year. In the latest reductions, the frequency of satellite photographs in the southern hemisphere will be reduced to once every three hours. Himawari currently takes satellite photographs of both hemispheres on an hourly basis. The new MTSAT is now scheduled to be launched in February 2003. The agency said that if Himawari goes out of service, it plans to use the U.S. NOAA weather satellite as a substitute. This, however, will lose Himawari's 24-hour coverage of areas around Japan, and limit the capacity for monitoring typhoons and other phenomena, the agency said.
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