Overview of Himawari-10 Imager and Sounder

In March 2023, Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) awarded the contract for Himawari-10 to Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (MELCO), which includes two L3Harris payloads: the Geostationary Himawari Imager (GHMI) and the Geostationary Himawari Sounder (GHMS). GHMI extends the capabilities currently provided by the Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) on Himawari-8/9 missions. GHMS adds new capability for Japan by providing hyperspectral sounding observations that will improve numerical weather prediction (NWP) and short-term forecasts of severe weather.

Overviews of the Himawari-10 GHMI and GHMS payloads are provided with comparisons to the heritage AHI, including key design differences, customized scanning timelines to optimize observations for Japan, and collaboration with MELCO/JMA to ensure Himawari-10 architecture and CONOPS support multiple payload operations on a shared bus.