| Weather Delays Japan's Launch of Environment-Monitoring Satellite |
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Bad weather has again delayed the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) efforts to launch of an H-2A rocket carrying the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) "Ibuki", this time due to excessive clouds and freezing temperatures, JAXA officials announced. Liftoff now set for Jan. 22 for Ibuki, which is designed to monitor Earth's environment in unprecedented detail. Liftoff is set for 10:54 p.m. EST (0354 Jan. 22 GMT) from Tanegashima Island, about 620 miles (1,000 km) southwest of Tokyo, though the mission has a window that stretches until 11:16 p.m. EST (0416 GMT). The GOSAT satellite weighs about 1,750 kilograms and is designed to for a five-year mission lifetime.GOSAT mission description from JAXA website: The "IBUKI" (GOSAT) is a satellite project to observe the concentration distribution of greenhouse gases that cause global warming, and to help reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions covered by the "Kyoto Protocol." The satellite is expected to play an important role in monitoring global environmental changes and look out for any small warning signs that could affect our future. IBUKI is equipped with a greenhouse gas observation sensor (TANSO-FTS) and a cloud/aerosol sensor (TANSO-CAI) that supplements TANSO-FTS. The greenhouse gas observation sensor of IBUKI observes a wide range of wave lengths (near infrared region ~ thermal infrared region) within the infrared band to enhance observation accuracy. The number of observation channels is as large as approx. 18,500. A cloud/aerosol sensor observes clouds and aerosol that can be a factor leading to errors in the measurement of greenhouse gas in order to improve greenhouse gas observation accuracy. IBUKI observes infrared rays radiated from the sun and reflected from the ground surface and the spectrum of infrared rays radiated from ground surface or the atmosphere itself. As they pass through a gas infrared rays are absorbed only by specific colors, which means components with a specific wave length are revealed. IBUKI calculates the concentration of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere utilizing this principle. IBUKI is a cooperative project among JAXA, the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) and the Ministry of the Environment (MOE). JAXA mainly takes charge of development, launching and operation of sensors and satellites. MOE and NIES carries out advanced processing of data and utilizes it. |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 18 February 2009 ) |
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