ID :
355887
Mon, 02/02/2015 - 01:29
Auther :

Japan Successfully Launches Backup Info Gathering Radar Satellite

Kagoshima, Feb. 1 (Jiji Press)--Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. <7011> and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, successfully launched a backup information gathering radar satellite on an H-2A rocket on Sunday. The H-2A Launch Vehicle No. 27 lifted off from JAXA's Tanegashima Space Center on Tanegashima island in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, at 10:21 a.m. (1:21 a.m. GMT). The satellite was put into orbit after being separated from the rocket and was confirmed to be functioning properly, according to Mitsubishi Heavy and JAXA, a government-affiliated body. Following the successful launch, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in a statement that the government will build a reliable system for gathering information in order to boost Japan's national security and enhance its crisis management capabilities. Koji Shimohira, head of the space center, told a news conference, "We will appropriately operate the satellite to gather information that is truly needed." Japan introduced information gathering satellites following North Korea's ballistic missile launch in 1998. There are two types of such satellites--optical sensor satellites used when weather is good and radar satellites capable of conducting observation even in bad weather conditions. The Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center is in charge of operating the satellites aimed at gathering information necessary for crisis management in light of national security and in times of large-scale natural disasters. The backup satellite launched Sunday was introduced as two radar satellites launched earlier were hit by glitches before the expiration of their planned five-year operational periods. Development costs for the backup satellite totaled 22.8 billion yen. The Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center plans to launch by the end of March a sensor satellite succeeding the one introduced in 2009. The launch of the H-2A No. 27 vehicle was originally scheduled for Thursday, but was postponed to Sunday due to bad weather. An H-2A rocket launch was conducted successfully for the 21st consecutive time after the launch of the No. 6 vehicle carrying an information gathering satellite failed in 2003. END

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