[Source]
Note from admin: Japan is more concerned about the doings of its Chinese neighbor than it is about N. Korea. Japan and China are embroiled in a row over which nation has exclusive rights to natural gas and oil deposits in the East China Sea.
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 TOKYO Japan launched its third intelligence-gathering satellite into space on Monday, amid concerns about neighboring North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile programs.An earlier launch attempt was scrubbed Sunday due to bad weather, but the domestically developed H2-A rocket lifted off Monday afternoon after the weather improved at Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan, said Kyoko Fukuda, a spokeswoman for Japan's space agency, JAXA. JAXA later confirmed that the satellite had successfully separated from the orange, white and black rocket. It subsequently entered its proper orbit, JAXA spokeswoman Yurika Inoue said. Japan already has two other intelligence-gathering satellites in orbit under a program prompted by North Korea's test launch of a long-range missile over Japan's main island in 1998. JAXA plans to launch a fourth satellite this winter. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said he was delighted by the news of the successful launch. "I hope that Japan's space exploration will continue to produce results that are appropriate for a leading nation in space exploration," Koizumi said in a statement. Japan hopes to use the satellites to be able to survey any point in the world and keep watch on North Korea. Monday's launch follows a series of North Korean missile tests in July that triggered international condemnation and concerns about regional security. But government officials have said the missile tests did not influence the timing of the launch. Japan says the satellites are not meant to be a provocation and will also be used for monitoring natural disasters and weather patterns. Critics, however, say sending up the satellites violates Japan's long-standing policy of conducting only nonmilitary space missions. The multibillion dollar program suffered a major setback in November 2003, when a rocket carrying two spy satellites malfunctioned and was destroyed in mid-flight. TOKYO Japan launched its third intelligence-gathering satellite into space on Monday, amid concerns about neighboring North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile programs. An earlier launch attempt was scrubbed Sunday due to bad weather, but the domestically developed H2-A rocket lifted off Monday afternoon after the weather improved at Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan, said Kyoko Fukuda, a spokeswoman for Japan's space agency, JAXA. JAXA later confirmed that the satellite had successfully separated from the orange, white and black rocket. It subsequently entered its proper orbit, JAXA spokeswoman Yurika Inoue said. Japan already has two other intelligence-gathering satellites in orbit under a program prompted by North Korea's test launch of a long-range missile over Japan's main island in 1998. JAXA plans to launch a fourth satellite this winter. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said he was delighted by the news of the successful launch. "I hope that Japan's space exploration will continue to produce results that are appropriate for a leading nation in space exploration," Koizumi said in a statement. Japan hopes to use the satellites to be able to survey any point in the world and keep watch on North Korea. Monday's launch follows a series of North Korean missile tests in July that triggered international condemnation and concerns about regional security. But government officials have said the missile tests did not influence the timing of the launch. Japan says the satellites are not meant to be a provocation and will also be used for monitoring natural disasters and weather patterns. Critics, however, say sending up the satellites violates Japan's long-standing policy of conducting only nonmilitary space missions. The multibillion dollar program suffered a major setback in November 2003, when a rocket carrying two spy satellites malfunctioned and was destroyed in mid-flight. |
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