Successful launch of H2A rocket Launch of information gathering satellite in orbit February 9 11:13
The H2A Launch Vehicle No. 41 carrying the government's information gathering satellite was launched from Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture at 10:34 am on March 9. The satellite was put into orbit about 20 minutes later, and the launch was successful.
The H2A Launch Vehicle No. 41 carrying the government's information gathering satellite was launched from Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture at 10:34 am on March 9.
The ascending rocket and the engine of the first stage were separated and continued to climb, and approximately 20 minutes after the launch, the satellite was put into orbit around the earth as planned, and the launch was successful.
The government's information-gathering satellite is a virtual reconnaissance satellite that can take pictures of everything on the earth from hundreds of kilometers above the altitude, and is used to understand trends in missile launch facilities in North Korea and the damage caused by disasters.
According to the Cabinet Satellite Information Center, there are two optical satellites currently operating as information collection satellites during the daytime, and two "optical satellites" for capturing ground conditions during the day, and "Radar satellites" for capturing images using radio waves even at night or in bad weather. Are five, a total of seven, and the one launched this time is the "optical satellite."
The government wants to further increase the number of satellites and establish a system to operate a total of 10 satellites in the future.
On the other hand, the cost of developing, launching, and operating information collection satellites has been about 1.4 trillion yen so far, and about 35 billion yen has been invested in the development of this "optical satellite".
The launch was originally scheduled for the 27th of last month but was postponed due to bad weather or ground equipment.