Japan launch completes set of spy satellites http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2007-02-24T144456Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-289038-2.xml
Sat Feb 24, 2007
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan launched its fourth spy satellite on Saturday, stepping up its ability to monitor potential threats including North Korea, whose missile and nuclear tests have spooked the region.
After three delays due to bad weather, the H-2A rocket finally lifted off into cloudy skies from the southern island of Tanegashima, carrying a radar satellite that joined three others -- one radar and two optical -- already in operation.
"The satellite has just gone into orbit and is operating normally," said a spokesman at the Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center, which operates the information-gathering system.
With the full complement of four satellites, Japan will be able to monitor any point on Earth once a day.
Japan's spy satellite programme was initiated after North Korea launched a ballistic missile in 1998 that flew over Japan.
The programme was delayed in 2003 when a rocket carrying two satellites veered off course and had to be destroyed in a spectacular fireball.
North Korea ratcheted up regional tensions last year when it conducted a nuclear test in October after a salvo of missile tests in July.
In January, China destroyed one of its own satellites with a ballistic missile, an experiment that sparked criticism around the world.
Japan's space scientists have long complained that the country's technical prowess has fallen behind because of a 1969 parliamentary resolution limiting the use of space to peaceful purposes. China, for example, has carried out manned space flights, a feat Japan has never attempted.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party is likely to submit a bill to the current session of parliament that would ease regulations and allow non-aggressive military use of space, LDP officials have said.
The rocket launched on Saturday was also carrying an experimental optical satellite, aimed at improving the level of detail obtained from the next generation of satellites.
At present, Japan's spy satellites can distinguish objects 1 metre (3 feet) or more in diameter, whereas U.S. military satellites are said to be able to pick up items one-tenth the size.
Japan has encountered difficulties with other space projects. Its biggest-ever satellite, launched last year and designed to improve mobile phone communications, is itself having communication difficulties.
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