IGS – Spaceflight Now

Japan launches optical spy satellite

February 9, 2020 Stephen Clark

Japan launched an optical reconnaissance satellite from the Tanegashima Space Center Sunday aboard an H-2A rocket after a 12-day delay caused by a nitrogen leak.

Launch of Japanese spy satellite postponed by nitrogen leak

January 27, 2020 Stephen Clark

Japanese officials halted a countdown Monday at the Tanegashima Space Center when teams overseeing preparations for launch of an H-2A rocket detected a nitrogen gas leak, prompting the return of the launcher and its Japanese government payload to a nearby assembly building for repairs.

Japanese intelligence-gathering satellite successfully launched

June 12, 2018 Stephen Clark

An all-weather spy satellite for the Japanese government launched Tuesday on top of an H-2A rocket, extending the country’s surveillance reach with coverage of North Korea and other strategic locations worldwide.

Poor weather forecast delays H-2A rocket launch

June 9, 2018 Stephen Clark

Projected weather impacts from Tropical Storm Maliksi passing over the Pacific Ocean south of Japan have prompted officials to push back the launch of an H-2A rocket and an Earth-imaging reconnaissance by one day to Tuesday, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency announced Saturday.

Reconnaissance satellite launched by Japanese H-2A rocket

February 27, 2018 Stephen Clark

A Japanese H-2A rocket launched Tuesday with a clandestine government-owned satellite to collect sharp-eyed views of North Korea’s missile developments and other global hotspots.

Japanese spy satellite launch delayed by poor weather forecast

February 24, 2018 Stephen Clark

A bad weather forecast has prompted Japanese space officials to delay the launch of an H-2A rocket with a high-resolution government-owned reconnaissance satellite by at least 48 hours until Monday night, U.S. time.

H-2A rocket launches with Japanese radar reconnaissance craft

March 17, 2017 Stephen Clark

A Japanese spy satellite launched aboard an H-2A rocket Friday, heading for a 300-mile-high orbit to track North Korean and Chinese military movements as tensions run high in the region.

Poor weather forecast delays Japanese spy satellite launch

March 14, 2017 Stephen Clark

Japanese officials have delayed the launch of a government-owned reconnaissance satellite until at least Friday, local time, because of bad weather predicted over the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan.

H-2A rocket achieves fourth launch in six months

March 26, 2015 Stephen Clark

A new surveillance satellite equipped with a high-resolution optical camera blasted into space aboard a Japanese H-2A rocket Thursday, joining a fleet of spy stations in orbit to track military activity in North Korea and other locations around the world.

H-2A rocket boosts Japanese radar spy satellite into orbit

February 1, 2015 Stephen Clark

Japan launched a new satellite Sunday to reinforce the country’s fleet of orbiting spy platforms charged with monitoring its neighbors in the Asia-Pacific.