Himawari (satellite)

"Geostationary Meteorological Satellite" redirects here. For meteorological satellites in geostationary orbit, see weather satellite.

GMS, the first generation of Himawari

The Himawari (ひまわり, “sunflower”) geostationary satellites, operated by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), support weather forecasting, tropical cyclone tracking, and meteorology research. Most meteorological agencies in East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand use the satellites for their own weather monitoring and forecasting operations.

Since the launch of GMS-1 (Himawari 1) in 1977, there have been three generations, including GMS, MTSAT, and Himawari 8/9. Himawari 8 and MTSAT-2 satellites are currently available for operational use.

Status of Himawari satellites

Name	Launch date (UTC)	Retirement	Rocket	Launch site
GMS-1 (Himawari 1)	14 July 1977	June 1989	Delta 2914	Cape Canaveral
GMS-2 (Himawari 2)	11 August 1981	November 1987	N-II (N8F)	Tanegashima
GMS-3 (Himawari 3)	3 August 1984	June 1995	N-II (N13F)	Tanegashima
GMS-4 (Himawari 4)	6 September 1989	February 2000	H-I (H20F)	Tanegashima
GMS-5 (Himawari 5)	18 March 1995	July 2005	H-II (F3)	Tanegashima
MTSAT-1 (Mirai 1)	15 November 1999	Launch failure	H-II (F8)	Tanegashima
MTSAT-1R (Himawari 6)	26 February 2005	On standby	H-IIA (F7)	Tanegashima
MTSAT-2 (Himawari 7)	18 February 2006	Operational	H-IIA (F9)	Tanegashima
Himawari 8	7 October 2014	Operational	H-IIA (F25)	Tanegashima
Himawari 9	2016 (Planned)		TBD	TBD

See also

• Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA)

External links

• Satellite Imagery from the Japan Meteorological Agency
• Meteorological Satellite Center of JMA