Feb 23 2007
From The Space Library
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully launched a spy satellite aboard an H- 2A rocket from Japan’s southern island, Tanegashima, at 1:41 p.m. (JST). The spy satellite, the fourth of a four-craft constellation, enabled Japan to monitor any point on Earth once each day. Japan had previously relied on the United States for intelligence, but, following North Korea’s 1998 launch of a ballistic missile over Japan, the Japanese government had decided to develop an independent intelligence-gathering capacity and had launched the four spy satellites. The H-2A launch vehicle also carried into orbit an experimental optical satellite, which would carry out tests for future espionage operations.
New York Times, “Japan Launches Its 4th Spy Satellite,” 25 February 2007; Agence France-Presse, “Japan Launches Spy Satellite,” 26 February 2007.
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