Himawari-8

Himawari-8 is a geostationary meteorological satellite operated by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), positioned at 140.7 degrees east over the geostationary arc at 35,786 km altitude. It was launched on 2014-10-07 and entered primary operational service on 2015-07-07, covering East Asia and the western Pacific.^[1]

The primary imaging payload is the Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI), a 16-channel visible and infrared imaging radiometer. AHI provides full-disc imagery every 10 minutes and targeted sector scans every 2.5 minutes, delivering data for atmospheric motion vector derivation, sea-surface temperature retrieval, and thermal anomaly detection.^[2][3] A data-collection system (DCS) handles relay of in-situ environmental data.^[4]

Himawari-9 assumed the primary observation role on 2022-12-13, with Himawari-8 transitioning to backup/standby duty. During an imagery anomaly on Himawari-9 in late 2025, Himawari-8 temporarily resumed the primary role before Himawari-9 was restored to primary status on 2025-11-26.^[1][4]