Japan puts new weather satellite into space

Japan puts new weather satellite into space

Japan hopes the new satellite can improve the forecasting of typhoons and help with early warnings of volcano eruptions.

TOKYO: Japan put a new weather satellite into space Tuesday (Oct 7) in the hope it can improve the forecasting of typhoons and detect volcanic gas plumes.

The successful launch comes the day after a typhoon strafed Japan and just over a week after a volcano killed more than 60 people when it erupted without warning.

The Japanese-made H-2A rocket carrying the Himawari-8 weather satellite blasted into a blue sky at the Tanegashima Space Centre in southern Kagoshima prefecture at 2:16pm (1.16pm Singapore time).

The 17 billion yen (US$155 million) satellite separated successfully from the rocket and entered its designated orbit, sparking applause at the space centre, a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) spokeswoman told AFP.

Japan's Meteorological Agency will use the satellite, alongside the Himawari-9, which is to be launched in 2016, for forecasting and to replace its ageing Himawari-6 and -7. The new satellite "can obtain a satellite image of a typhoon once every 2.5 minutes, against the current pace of once every 30 minutes," an official of the weather agency told AFP.

"Together with improvement in computer-aided analysis, we hope our forecasts of a typhoon's future course will be more accurate," he said. "As satellite images will become multi-colour from the current black and white, it will be easier to observe volcanic gas" which will be helpful for early warnings of a volcanic eruption, he added.

- AFP/xq


- wong chee tat :)