Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced the successful launch of a mutlifunctional satellite from its Tanegashima Space Center of southern Japan recently.
The Multifunctional Transport Satellite 2 (MTSAT-2) was lifted off by a H-2A rocket at 3:27 p.m. local time (0627 GMT) from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima prefecture. It separated with the rocket at 3:55 p.m. local time (0655 GMT). On entering onto the obit successfully, the MTSAT-2 would perform two major functions, one is meteorological observation and the other is air traffic control.
For weather observation, the MTSAT-2 will act as a backup weather satellite for the Himawari-6, which was put into orbit in February 2005 and is scheduled to end mission in 2010.
With a remote-sensing instrument called “Imager”, the MTSAT-2 can collect images and data to produce information such as sea surface temperature, cloud top temperature and cloud motion winds. The satellite is also capable of collecting meteorological, tidal (tsunami) and seismic intensity data from remote observing stations, according to the JAXA.
