GCOM-C (Shikisai)

GCOM-C (Shikisai, Global Change Observation Mission - Climate) is a Japanese climate-observation satellite operated by JAXA, launched on 2017-12-23 by H-IIA into a sun-synchronous orbit at 798 km altitude with a 10:30 descending local time.^[1][2] The mission carries the Second-generation Global Imager (SGLI), a multi-channel passive imaging radiometer with visible, near-infrared, shortwave infrared, thermal infrared, and multi-angle polarisation channels spanning a 1000 km swath with an approximately 2-day global revisit.^[3][4] GCOM-C provides long-term global observations of ocean colour and water-leaving radiance for marine primary productivity assessments, sea surface temperature retrieval, vegetation index mapping for land and crop applications, and multi-angle polarimetric aerosol characterisation relevant to air quality monitoring.^[5][4] The mission is currently in an extended operational phase beyond its nominal 5-year design life.^[1][2]