About Us

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) has been operating geostationary meteorological satellites since 1977.

JMA headquarters does the planning on JMA's meteorological satellites, and Meteorological Satellite Center (MSC) does the operation and development.

Japan Meteorological Agency -headquarters-

The Satellite Program Division belongs to the Information Infrastructure Department of the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), and is located in the HQ building in Tokyo.

Satellite Program Division

The Division supervises matters on meteorological satellites, including:

  • Planning of future meteorological satellites
  • Procurement of meteorological satellites
  • Budget requests and contracts
  • International and interagency affairs
  • Telecommunication systems and radio frequencies.

Contact

Please contact us with any issues or questions.

Meteorological Satellite Center

The Meteorological Satellite Center (MSC) was established in April 1977 as an auxiliary organ of the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). MSC is located in Kiyose city in suburban Tokyo.

range of dcs Meteorological Satellite Center

Operations and Development

MSC is in charge of geostationary meteorological satellite operational matters, including:

  • Satellite control
  • Acquisition of satellite imagery
  • Processing and dissemination of satellite imagery
  • Making products such as satellite imagery-derived wind
  • Receiving meteorological/tsunami reports from Data Collection Platforms (DCPs) through geostationary meteorological satellites.

MSC is also in charge of receiving imagery and data from NOAA's polar-orbiting meteorological satellites (POES) and EUMETSAT Polar System (EPS).

Contact