The spacecraft was constructed by Mitsubishi Electric, and is the second of two similar satellites to be based on the DS-2000 bus.

[2] Himawari 9 was launched on 2 November 2016, 06:20:00 UTC, atop a H-IIA rocket flying from the Yoshinobu Launch Complex Pad 1 at the Tanegashima Space Center, and by 11 November 2016 it reached to the geostationary point at 140.7 degrees East.

[3] After initial function tests, it was put on standby until 05:00 UTC by 13 December 2022, when it succeeded Himawari 8.

[4][5] The launch was scheduled initially on 1 November 2016, but postponed for one day due to the bad weather forecast.

[6] As part of an outreach project organized by the Young Astronauts Club Japan the launch also carried manga artwork drawn by Chūya Koyama, author of the Space Brothers manga.