Presentation of Certificates of Appreciation for the Global Change Observation Mission (GCOM)

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched two related satellites, “SHIZUKU” (the Global Change Observation Mission—Water, or GCOM-W), in May 2012 and “SHIKISAI” (the Global Change Observation Mission—Climate, or GCOM-C, in December 2017. We are marking their tenth and fifth operational anniversaries, respectively. The satellites have steadily made long-term global change observations in the radio wave and optics, which are the major goals of the GCOM mission.

To express our deepest gratitude to the manufacturers, individuals, and entities that have contributed to the success of both GCOM missions, we held a presentation ceremony at JAXA’s Tokyo office on Monday, March 27^th, 2023.

TERADA Koji, Director General of JAXA’s Space Technology Directorate I, presented certificates of appreciation and supplementary prizes to seven companies, four organizations, and one individual.

JAXA plans to continue operating both GCOM satellites to build a more valuable long-term dataset. We at the Space Technology Directorate I sincerely appreciate their efforts and contributions and would like to ask for the continued support and cooperation of all parties in our future endeavors.

Contributors to the GCOM satellite missions

NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation’s Space System Department has made significant contributions to the overall design, development, and operation of both satellites as well as SHIKISAI’s sensors and to their National Security Solution Department for the overall development and operation of both satellites’ ground systems. We appreciate the work of NEC Space Technologies, Ltd. for manufacturing and testing the satellites and sensors.

MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC Corporation
MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC Corporation has significantly contributed to the development and in-orbit performance evaluation of the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) onboard SHIZUKU.

Mitsubishi Electric Software Corporation
Mitsubishi Electric Software Corporation has made significant contributions to the development of software and ground processing system, and conducting in-orbit calibration for the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) on board SHIZUKU.

SPACE ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT Co., Ltd.
SPACE ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT Co., Ltd. has provided enormous help to control and operate both SHIZUKU and SHIKISAI satellites.

TIS Solution Link Inc.
TIS Solution Link Inc. has contributed notably to developing and maintaining the SHIZUKU and SHIKISAI satellites’ control and operation systems.

Fujitsu Limited
Fujitsu Limited has contributed notably to developing and maintaining the data-processing sections of the SHIZUKU and SHIKISAI satellites’ control and operation systems.

Remote Sensing Technology Center of Japan
The Remote Sensing Technology Center of Japan (RESTEC) has made significant contributions to the mission operation of SHIZUKU and SHIKISAI ground systems. They have also aided in product development and promoting SHIKISAI data.

AMSR Subcommittee of the Science Advisory Committee on Earth Observation
The AMSR Subcommittee of the Scientific Advisory Board on Earth Observation has made significant contributions to the mission design and promotion of the data utilization of SHIZUKU in both scientific and practical applications.

AMSR3 and GCOM-W Science Team
The AMSR3 & GCOM-W Science Team has made significant contributions to the product developments and scientific and practical applications of SHIZUKU.

SGLI Subcommittee of the Science Advisory Committee on Earth Observation
The SGLI Subcommittee of the Scientific Advisory Board on Earth Observation has made significant contributions to the mission design and promotion of the data utilization of SHIKISAI in both scientific and practical applications.

GCOM-C Science Team
The GCOM-C Science Team has made significant contributions to the product developments and scientific and practical applications of SHIKISAI.

The late SHIMODA Haruhisa
Prof. SHIMODA Haruhisa, an emeritus professor at Tokai University, provided valuable contributions to realizing the GCOM programs through his leadership until he passed away in 2019. He served for many years as the chairman of the GCOM User Committee, the predecessors of the AMSR and SGLI Subcommittee of the Science Advisory Committee on Earth Observation.