By Ankit Panda
Japan launched a spy satellite to supplement its two radar satellites.
On Sunday, Japan successfully launched a spy satellite, according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), its aerospace agency. The launch was originally scheduled for Thursday last week but was delayed due to a weather hazard. The satellite was launched on Sunday morning and will be the fifth Japanese intelligence and surveillance satellite in orbit. Japan currently orbits two optical satellites and two radar satellites. The satellite launched on Sunday will supplement the already operational radar satellites, according to a Defense News report citing a Japanese government official.
The launch, Japan’s first of 2015, took place at Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center using a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H-IIA carrier rocket. The spy satellite will be operated by Japan’s Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center. According to a report at NASA Spaceflight, the spy satellite will be operated as part of Japan’s Information Gathering Satellites (IGS) program, which consists of optical and radar imaging spacecraft. The Japanese government has not revealed details regarding the exact surveillance capabilities of the satellites involved in the country’s IGS program.
Read the full story at The Diplomat