Customized Products Division

Space optical products include optical systems installed on man-made satellites as well as machinery and tools for astronomical observation used on the Earth's surface. Reflecting telescopes used in space are a representative type of optic systems for man-made satellites. There are several different types of reflecting telescopes, including those for viewing the surface of the Earth and moon and others for observing the distant cosmos known as "deep space." In addition, there are also observational
instruments and telescopes that are installed above ground for observing astronomical bodies.
The Advanced Land Observing Satellite "DAICHI" (ALOS) was launched in January 2006 and completed its operations in May 2011. ALOS was equipped with Nikon's Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radiometer type 2 (AVNIR-2), and the results of its observations are used for a range of purposes including map creation, earth observation, understanding disasters, and resource exploration. Observational images of affected areas were provided after the Great East Japan Earthquake to contribute to the government's activities to gather information. ALOS also took images of an erupting mountain (Shinmoedake) in the Kirishima volcanic range for emergency observation.

1) Advanced Land Observing Satellite "DAICHI" (ALOS)
2) Infrared Imaging Satellite "AKARI" (ASTRO-F)
3) Eruption of a mountain in the Kirishima volcanic range photographed by ALOS
4) "Catalogues of Infrared Astronomical Bodies" with astronomical observation information gathered by ASTRO-F
Photos provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

The Infrared Imaging Satellite "AKARI" (ASTRO-F), launched in February 2006, is also equipped with reflective optics in the form of a large 67-centimeter aperture infrared telescope. ASTRO-F is Japan's first genuine infrared astronomical satellite and is used to study mysteries such as the birth, evolution, and death of stars and galaxies. The "Catalogues of Infrared Astronomical Bodies" was created from the results of ASTRO-F's observations in 2010 and made public to the entire world.
We hope to contribute to making observations that are useful for disaster-prevention measures and environmental protection on a global level, as well as to investigations of other planets in our solar system and research related to the origins of the universe. For this reason we are working each day to improve the reliability of our technologies.