WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2003
Japan may delay spy satellites launch
AP
TOKYO: Japan may delay the launch of its next pair of spy satellites due to technical difficulties, a news agency said Tuesday.
Two spy satellites were successfully put into orbit by Japan for the first time in March, and media reports had said a second set were slated for launch on September 10.
That date could be postponed for about 10 days because additional work needs to be done on the rocket's booster, Kyodo News said, quoting an unidentified official at the National Space Development Agency of Japan. The satellites are set to be launched atop Japan's domestically developed H-2A rocket.
Phone calls to the space agency went unanswered late Tuesday. Japanese officials have been tightlipped about the next launch date, saying only that it was being considered for sometime in the fall.
Japan launched its first spy satellites on March 28 as part of a US$2 billion plan to monitor North Korea's missile and nuclear programs.
The launch prompted an angry warning from the communist nation, which accused Japan of sparking a regional arms race.
Japan has had a long-standing policy of keeping its space program out of military missions. Officials say the spy satellites do not violate that policy because they pose no threat to foreign countries and will also be used to monitor natural disasters and weather patterns.
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