The launch of an advanced multifunctional satellite scheduled for February 2003 will be put off by a few months due to production delays at its U.S. maker, government officials said Thursday.
The Multifunctional Transport Satellite was commissioned last year to be built by Space Systems/Loral to replace the Japanese weather satellite Himawari 5 and provide next-generation aeronautical communications and navigational services.
But the California-based satellite firm asked the Japan Meteorological Agency and the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry in late July to change the delivery schedule from February 2003 to the following July or August, the officials said.
The Himawari 5 -- put into orbit in 1995 -- surpassed its designated service time at the end of March 2000, but steps have been taken to extend its use, officials from the weather agency said.
They warned that any more delays in launching MTSAT will affect data collection for weather forecasting because Himawari 5 is Japan's only weather satellite.
The MTSAT will be put into a geosynchronous orbit above the equator.