Japan Launches Radar Reconnaissance Satellite
A Japanese radar reconnaissance satellite rode into orbit atop an H-2A rocket Monday (Dec. 12), expanding the country's capacity to observe military and civil developments around the world.
The satellite lifted off at 0121 GMT Monday (8:21 p.m. EST Sunday) from the Tanegashima Space Center, Japan's primary space launch base on a remote island at the southern end of the main islands.
The last of Japan's radar satellites failed in orbit last year, leaving the country without an all-weather satellite reconnaissance capability.
Japan established the space-based reconnaissance program after North Korea fired a test missile over Japanese territory in 1998. The country's spy satellites have become increasingly more advanced since then, but officials have provided no official specifications on the satellite launched Friday.
Data from the Japanese spy satellite program is used by the government to keep track of North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, along with other military movements across the globe. The imagery was also crucial in the aftermath of the March earthquake that spawned a devastating tsunami and the following crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
