Advanced Land Observing Satellite 3 (ALOS-3), also called Daichi 3, was a 3-ton Japanese satellite launched on March 7 2023 which failed to reach orbit. It was to succeed the optical sensor PRISM (Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instruments for Stereo Mapping) carried on the ALOS satellite, which operated from 2006 to 2011. The ALOS-2 satellite and the ALOS-4 satellite carry synthetic-aperture radar.
The satellite was launched as the payload on the first launch of the H3 rocket in March 2023. A failure of the second stage engine to ignite led to the rocket along with its payload ALOS-3 being destroyed by use of Flight Termination System (FTS) to prevent risk of falling debris.
Spacecraft details
ALOS-3 had a mass of 3 tonnes, and 7 reaction wheels.[3]
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Launch
ALOS-3 launched from Tanegashima, Japan by a H3 rocket on 7 March 2023.[1] Initially the launch was scheduled for 17 February but was aborted seconds before liftoff.[4]
If it had been successfully launched, ALOS-3 would have been an Earth observation satellite and was to be used to monitor natural disasters as well as for cartography.[3] ALOS-3 carried OPS (OPtical Sensor), a multi-band optical camera which is an upgrade from the PRISM sensor.[2] OPS was capable of observing a 70-kilometer (43 mi) wide strip of land on Earth.[5] In addition to the RGB and infrared band covered by the predecessor ALOS satellite, ALOS-3 has two additional bandwidths: coastal and red edge. Coastal allows observation underwater up to a depth of 30m, while red edge was to be used to monitor vegetation growth.[5]
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).
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