Japan successfully launches intelligence satellite

February 27, 2018

Tanegashima, Kagoshima Pref.- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. <7011> and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency successfully launched on Tuesday an H-2A rocket carrying an information-gathering optical satellite of the government.

The H-2A Launch Vehicle No. 38 lifted off from JAXA's Tanegashima Space Center on Tanegashima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, at 1:34 p.m. (4:34 a.m. GMT).

The satellite was put into orbit as scheduled about 20 minutes after the launch.

Japan introduced information-gathering satellites in response to a ballistic missile launch by North Korea in 1998. The missile flew over the Japanese archipelago and fell into the Pacific.

The de facto spy satellites are operated by the Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center.

In 2013, Japan was equipped with two optical sensor satellites that can take pictures under fine weather conditions and two radar satellites that are capable of making observations under bad weather conditions and at night.

Since then, Japan has been able to take a picture of anywhere on Earth once a day.

The government plans to add two optical and radar satellites each and introduce two data relay satellites in order to establish a 10-satellite structure that can enable it to take more pictures.

Currently, six satellites are in operation in orbit.

The latest optical satellite is the successor to the one launched in September 2011.

Although the government has not disclosed details of the new satellite, including its camera resolution, its overall performance is believed to have been improved, sources familiar with the situation said.

In a statement issued after the successful satellite launch, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, "By making the maximum use of information-gathering satellites, we'll continue taking all possible measures to secure national security and crisis management."

At a press conference, Kenichi Kinomura, head of the satellite intelligence center, said the government wants the satellites to be seen as a tool not only for national security and crisis management but also for the safety of the public.

The satellites provided information on heavy rain that hit the northern part of the Kyushu southwestern Japan region last year and the eruption of a volcano in Gunma Prefecture, eastern Japan, in late January this year, Kinomura said. Jiji Press