Japan Successfully Launches Reconnaissance Satellite into Orbit
The H-2A Launch Vehicle No. 48 carrying the government’s Information-Gathering Satellite “Optical-8” blasted off at 1:44 p.m. Friday from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture. The launch was marked a success after the satellite separated from the rocket and went into orbit.
An Information-Gathering Satellite (IGS) is de facto a reconnaissance satellite which monitors military facilities in North Korea and elsewhere but is also used to assess disaster-stricken areas.
There is a total of 10 IGS currently in operation, including optical satellites that capture high-resolution daytime imagery and radar satellites that can take images at night and in bad weather. The Optical-8 was launched as a successor to an optical satellite currently in operation beyond its design life.
"Science & Nature" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
Solar Panels Around Southern Japan’s Mt. Aso Stoke Fears Over Landscape; Local Govt Scrambles to Preserve Nature
-
Govt, U.S. Sign Deal to Send 2 Japanese Astronauts to the Moon; Toyota to Contribute to Artemis Program with Lunar Cruiser
-
Studying Dinosaurs for Humanity’s Future
-
Jellyfish Invade Venezuelan Waters, Worrying Fishermen
-
U.K.’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Fell 5.4% in 2023
JN ACCESS RANKING
- M6.0 Earthquake Hits Japan’s Tohoku Region; Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi Prefectures Observe 4 on Japanese Scale With No Risk of Tsunami
- China Mutes Memorialization of Reformer Hu Yaobang; Memories Could Spark Critique of Xi Administration
- Shinkansen Services Suspended After Man ‘Searches for Phone’ on Tracks; Disruption Affects About 14,000 Passengers
- U.S. 7th Fleet officer Arrested on Suspicion of Stealing Sushi, Sashimi, Chicken at Kanagawa Shopping Mall; Suspect Caught Mid-Meal
- UNRWA Director Describes Catastrophic Destruction in Gaza; Says Relief Trucks Robbed, ‘People’s Hearts Destroyed’