Advanced Land Observing Satellite-2 (ALOS-2), also called Daichi-2, is a 2,120 kg (4,670 lb) Japanese
satellite launched in 2014. Although the predecessor
ALOS satellite had featured 2 optical cameras in addition to L-band (1.2 GHz/25 cm) radar, ALOS-2 had optical cameras removed to simplify construction and reduce costs. The
PALSAR-2 radar is a significant upgrade of the
PALSAR radar, allowing higher-resolution (1 x 3 m per pixel) spotlight modes in addition to the 10 m resolution survey mode inherited from the
ALOS spacecraft. Also, the SPAISE2 automatic ship identification system and the Compact Infra Red Camera (CIRC) will provide supplementary data about sea-going ships and provide early warnings of missile launches.[3]
The satellite contains a 1.2 GHz
synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) sensor that is intended to be used for cartography, monitoring of naval traffic and disaster monitoring of Asia and the Pacific.[3] JAXA initially hoped to be able to launch the successor to ALOS during 2011, but these plans were delayed until 2014 because of budget restrictions.
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ).
Cubesats are smaller. Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).
