ALOS-3

ALOS-3 (Daichi 3) was JAXA's next-generation optical Earth observation satellite, carrying the PRISM-2 stereo panchromatic imager capable of 0.8-metre resolution and the HISUI hyperspectral sensor. Designed to support land mapping, disaster response, and environmental monitoring, it restored optical imaging capabilities that ALOS-2 had dropped in favour of a radar-only payload.

First flight of the H3 launch vehicle. The second stage engine failed to ignite approximately five minutes after launch; JAXA issued a flight termination command roughly 14 minutes in, destroying the vehicle over the western Pacific. The loss of ALOS-3 led JAXA to substitute a mass simulator (VEP-4) on the second H3 flight while the failure was investigated.