Japan to develop advanced spy satellite http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?slug=Japan+to+develop+advanced+spy+satellite&id=92919
Saturday, September 9, 2006 (Tokyo):
Japan will develop advanced reconnaissance satellite to boost the nation's intelligence-gathering capabilities, aiming for a launch in 2009.
Japan currently has two intelligence satellites in orbit. The program was prompted by North Korea's test launch of a long-range missile over Japan's main island in 1998.
The intelligence-gathering program is aimed at allowing Japan to survey any point in the world, and Tokyo wants to boost reconnaissance capabilities by upgrading optic functions and data transmission.
Japan launched the first two intelligence-gathering satellites in 2003. A third launch was scheduled for tomorrow, with a fourth planned for early next year.
Tomorrow's launch will involve the domestically developed H2-A rocket from Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan, according to the nation's space agency JAXA.
Officials have said the satellites aren't meant as a provocation, and will also be used for other missions such as monitoring natural disasters and weather patterns.
But critics say sending up the satellites goes against a long-standing policy of conducting only nonmilitary space missions.
The reported plan to develop a more advanced satellite follows North Korea's missile firing in July, which triggered international condemnation and concerns. (AP)