Japan's Advanced Earth Observing Satellite, the 3,500kg Adeos, the largest craft built by the country, has started its surveying mission despite a problem with one of two sets of attitude control system thrusters which has failed. The Adeos is equipped with a suite of five national and two NASA instruments, and one French instrument, and is acquiring data on global warming, depletion of the ozone layer, decrease in the tropical rain forests and climate changes.
Source: Flight International