Japan Launches Internet Satellite
Posted On Tuesday, February 26, 2008 at at 2/26/2008 05:40:00 AM by nullA H-2A lifts off from its launch pad on the island of Tanagashima on Saturday February 23, 2008. Japan's space agency said Saturday it launched a communications satellite designed to enable super high-speed data transmission. The H-2A rocket carrying the satellite lifted off from the southern island of Tanegashima at 5:55 p.m. (0855 GMT), according to a live Internet broadcast by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)
(AP) -- Japan's space agency launched an experimental communications satellite Saturday designed to enable super high-speed data transmission at home and in Southeast Asia.
The domestically developed H-2A rocket carrying the satellite, "Kizuna," was launched Saturday evening from the southern island of Tanegashima, according to a live Internet broadcast by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, known as JAXA.
The satellite, equipped with two large multi-beam antennas, separated from the rocket and successfully entered its intended orbit 175 miles from Earth, JAXA said in a statement.
The agency said it hoped to enable data transmission of up to 1.2 gigabytes per second at a low cost across Japan and in 19 different places in Southeast Asia. JAXA developed Kizuna with another government agency, the National Institute of Information and Communication Technology, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
The cost of the satellite's development, launch and operation is estimated at $480 million, JAXA spokeswoman Asaka Hagiwara said.
Japan has yet to join the lucrative international satellite market, and Kizuna, which should be in operation for five years, is not intended for commercial use. Its large H-2A rocket is one of the most advanced and reliable in the world - Saturday's was its eighth straight successful launch.