Kicking off its launch year, Japan has placed a radar reconnaissance satellite into near-500 km sun-synchronous low Earth orbit (LEO). The IGS RADAR-7 satellite was launched at 0150 GMT on 26 January by a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) H-2A202 rocket. This mission flew from the main Japanese launch site at the Tanegashima Space Center, located on an island of the South coast of one of the main Japanese islands, Kyushu. IGS RADAR-7, part of the military Information Gathering Satellite (IGS) fleet, will provide Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery for use by the Japanese government, Armed Forces, and its Allies.
The H-2A202 rocket lifts-off carrying the IGS RADAR-7 satellite. Courtesy of Necovideo Visual Solutions (NVS) via YouTube
Next month Japan is expecting the maiden flight of its next-generation H-3 heavy lift rocket. The H-3 will eventually replace the older H-2 series rockets used for such launches. If the H-3 meets a February launch date it will earn first place in the global race to launch the next generation of expendable heavy lift rockets between MHI (H-3), ULA (Vulcan), and Arianespace (Ariane 6).
