TOKYO (AP) — Japan has deployed an upgraded Earth observation satellite for disaster relief and security after it was launched Monday on a new flagship H3 rocket.
The H3 No. 3 rocket lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center on a southwestern Japanese island and released its payload about 16 minutes later as planned, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) reported during a livestream.
The Advanced Land Observation Satellite, or ALOS-4, is primarily tasked with Earth observation and data collection for disaster response and mapping. It is also capable of monitoring military activities, such as missile launches, using an infrared sensor developed by the Department of Defense.
The rocket appeared to fly as planned, and JAXA is expected to provide further details at a news conference later Monday. The launch was initially scheduled for Sunday, but was postponed due to bad weather at the launch site.
The ALOS-4 is a successor to the current ALOS-2 and can observe a much larger area. Japan will operate both for the time being.
The launch was the third of the H3 system, following the successful launch on February 17 and the shocking failed debut flight a year earlier, when the rocket had to be destroyed along with its payload: a satellite that was supposed to be the ALOS-3.
Japan considers a stable, commercially competitive space transportation capability as essential to its space program and national security.
JAXA and its prime contractor Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have developed the H3 launch system as a successor to its current mainstay, the H-2A, which is being retired after two more flights. MHI will eventually take over production and launches of the H3 from JAXA and hopes to make it commercially viable by reducing launch costs to about half that of the H-2A.
