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Japan's H-2A Launcher Successfully Orbits Pair of Satellites
By Eric Talmadge
Associated Press Writer
posted: 05:15 am ET
10 September 2002
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TOKYO (AP) -- Japan's latest H-2A rocket lifted off from a remote launchpad Tuesday carrying two satellites and the nation's hopes of competing in the commercial rocket launching business. The two stage, 188-foot (57-meter) rocket lifted off on schedule in clear weather from the Tanegashima Space Center on a small island off the coast of Kyushu, southern Japan. Junichi Moriuma, a spokesman for Japan's space agency, said the liftoff went well. A cheer went up as the black, white and orange rocket blasted into the blue skies. The most crucial moment would come within 30 minutes after the liftoff, when the satellites would be released into orbit. Officials declared success about 30 minutes later, after both the Data Relay Test Satellite and an experimental payload known as USERS was released into orbit. Both events were dramatically captured by onboard cameras. A successful liftoff of the domestically developed rocket is seen as crucial for Japan's space program, which has been dogged by a series of glitches, cost overruns and scheduling delays. The H-2A is the centerpiece of Japan's space program, and the focus of Japan's hopes to join the commercial satellite launching business. This is its third H-2A -- the first was launched in August 2001 and the second in February last year. But Japan, which has succeeded in sending a probe into lunar orbit, has struggled to perfect its rocket technology and has fallen far behind the United States' Delta and Atlas rockets and Europe's Ariane. It is also seeing a new rival in China, which has announced ambitious plans to send astronauts into space. Though Japanese astronauts have been on the U.S. Space Shuttle, Japan has no manned program of its own. Japan's H-2A program has been bumpy at best. Though the first launch was a success, the February launch ended in failure, with one of the probes lost in space. Test countdowns for the current rocket were called off twice late last month when engineers detected problems with a fuel valve and a gauge that monitors the flow of liquid oxygen to the engines. In July, NASDA had to completely replace an engine on the 10.2 billion yen ($85.7 million) rocket because of flaws in valves and the sealant used between rocket stages. Aboard the rocket Tuesday were a communications satellite to help relay transmissions between the International Space Station and earth and an experimental probe to test re-entry technology. Despite the setbacks, Japanese space officials have pledged 11 more launches during the next three years, including Tuesday's. A fall launch is planned between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, and a space shot early next year is scheduled to carry Japan's first spy satellite into orbit. The program has yet to find a commercial customer.
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