JAXA
H3 Heavy Launch system JAXA
Advanced radar sattelite “DAICHI-4”（ALOS-4）
July 01, 2024 12:47 JST Published
On July 1, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully launched the third test flight of its next mainstay rocket, the H3, in a live broadcast on JAXA's official YouTube channel that was viewed by over 72,000 people at one point, probably because it was lunchtime.
One minute and 57 seconds after liftoff, the H3 Test Flight No. 3 jettisoned the SRB-3 booster, followed by the separation of the first stage engine and the firing of the second stage engine. The separation of the Advanced Radar Satellite "Daichi No. 4" (ALOS-4) was confirmed about 16 minutes after liftoff, as scheduled.
The control room immediately after the successful jettison of the Daichi-4. Relief and applause could be heard.
Daichi-4 is an "advanced radar satellite" equipped with L-band synthetic aperture radar, the successor to Daichi-2. The newly adopted digital beam forming technology will maintain the high spatial resolution of Daichi-2 (3 m) while expanding the observation range by a factor of four (200 km).
This will increase the frequency of observations of crustal and ground deformation. It is expected to play an important role in efforts to mitigate disasters, such as understanding the situation in the event of an earthquake or other disaster.
In March 2011, JAXA failed to launch the first test model of the H3 rocket and lost the onboard advanced optical satellite "Daichi III. In February of this year, JAXA successfully launched Test Flight No. 2, releasing the small satellite CE-SAT-IE, which was developed by Canon Electronics Inc.
Isao Furuya, an engineer at JAXA's Space Transportation Engineering Division, who was in charge of technical commentary during the live broadcast, said, "With this success, H3 has proved that it can launch a real satellite. We can say that we have started to move toward full-scale operations. He also said that they are preparing to launch a fourth test satellite, and asked for support for the launch in the not-too-distant future.
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Daichi-2, which is currently in operation, is equipped with radar that can make observations at night and in bad weather, and was able to detect the uplift of up to 4 meters caused by the Noto Peninsula earthquake in January and the flooding of the Kuma River during the heavy rainfall in Kumamoto in July 2020. This information is conveyed to the government and local governments, and is also used to determine where to place supplies and personnel.
However, the design life of the Daichi-2, which was launched in 2002, is five to seven years, and it could be out of service at any time.
The launch of Daichi No. 4 has been hurried because of the loss of Daichi No. 3 (development cost: JPY28.2) due to the launch failure of H3 No. 1.
Compared to the No. 2, the No. 4 satellite has a four-fold wider range of observation capability and improved accuracy. As a result, the frequency of observation of all of Japan will increase from four times a year to 20 times a year.
In addition to responding to disasters, the new satellite can also be used for early detection of abnormalities, such as signs of volcanic eruptions and land subsidence.
The system will also be used to detect, within millimeters, whether dams and levees are warped due to aging, and to receive information on the type and location of vessels for use in operational management. The system is also expected to be used for agricultural policy by identifying the area of rice paddies planted in various regions of the world.■
