ADEOS
Full Name: Advanced Earth Observing Satellite
Phase: Past
Launch Date: August 17, 1996
Advanced Earth Observing Satellite (ADEOS) was the first international
space platform dedicated to Earth environmental research developed and
managed by the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) (The
Japanese call her MIDORI). The TOMS instrument along with NSCAT (a NASA
Spectrometer designed to study wind speed and direction) were a major
US components of the platform. ADEOS launched on August 17, 1996 (at
01:53 UT) into a Sun-synchronous sub-recurrent orbit of an altitude of
approximately 830 km by an H-II launch vehicle from the Tanegashima
Space Center.
On June 30, 1997, the ADEOS Spacecraft failed and was replaced by NASA's EarthProbe/TOMS.
For complete coverage of the malfunction, you can read the
NASA press release on the failure.