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What is ALOS?

ALOS stands for Advanced Land Observing Satellite, which was launched by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency in January 2006. Its Japanese name is "DAICHI".

The size of DAICHI is 3.5m wide x 4.5m long x 6.5m high, with its Solar Battery Paddle is 22m x 3m wide, gross weight is approximately 4 tons, which is one of the largest among Land Observing Satellites.

 

ALOS major specifications

Launch Date
January 24, 2006
Launching Vehicle
H - IIA
Launch Site
Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
Spacecraft Mass
Approx. 4 tons
Generated Power (Solar paddle)
Approx. 7kw (at End Of Life)
Designed EOL
3-5 years
Orbit
Sun Synchronous, Sub recurrent
Repeat Cycle: 46 days
Sub-Cycle : 2 days
Altitude : 691.65km (Above the equator)
Inclination : 98.16 deg.
Attitude Determination Accuracy

2.0 x 10-4 deg. (off-line, with GCP)
Position Determination Accuracy
 1m (off-line)
Data Rate
240Mbps (Via Data Relay Test Satellite)
120Mbps (Direct Transmission)
On-board Data Recorder
Solid-state Data Recorder (90Gbytes)