JERS-1

Japanese Earth Resources Satellite 1 (JERS-1) was a satellite launched in 1992 by the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA, now part of JAXA). It carried three instruments:

• An L-band (HH polarization) synthetic aperture radar (SAR);
• A nadir-pointing optical camera (OPS);
• A side-looking optical camera (AVNIR).

JERS-1

Names	Japanese Earth Resources Satellite Fuyo-1
Mission type	Visible-light astronomy
Operator	NASDA (now JAXA)
COSPAR ID	1992-007A
SATCAT no.	21867
Mission duration	2 years (planned) 6.6 years (achieved)
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	Mitsubishi Electric
Launch mass	1400 kg
Dimensions	0.9 m x 1.8 m x 3.2 m with solar spanning 3.5 m x 7.0 m
Power	2000 watts
Start of mission
Launch date	11 February 1992
Rocket	H-I
Launch site	Tanegashima Space Center Osaki Launch Complex
End of mission
Disposal	Deorbited
Declared	12 October 1998
Destroyed	3 December 2001
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Sun-synchronous orbit
Altitude	568 km
Inclination	97.7°
Period	96 minutes
Repeat interval	44 days[1]

The satellite had a designated lifespan of only two years, however the mission was extended and it operated until 1998. Jers-1 re-entered the Earth's atmosphere in 2001.^[2] The satellite was used to map the largest of Earth's forests and observe coastal regions.^[3]