Satellite Today :: Gosat Completed, Scheduled for Launch

[Satellite Today 01-06-09] Prime contractor Mitsubishi Electric has completed the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (Gosat), which will monitor carbon emissions from space in an effort to assist in the fight against global warming, the company announced Jan. 5.
The satellite, which cost an estimated 34.6 billion yen ($372 million), is scheduled to be launched from Tanegashima Space Center by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Jan 21.
Named Ibuki — Japanese for “breath” — the satellite will record greenhouse gas emissions in 56,000 locations across the globe while orbiting the planet once every three days. The data will be updated every three days and analyzed by researchers at the Japanese Environment Ministry and the Japanese National Institute for Environmental Studies, before being distributed freely to scientists around the globe.