Japan Launches First of Three Military Communications Satellites

Japan Launches First Military Communications Satellite (excerpt)

(Source: Reuters; issued Jan 24, 2017)

Japan on Tuesday launched its first military communications satellite to boost the broadband capacity of its Self Defence Forces as they reinforce an island chain stretching along the southern edge of the East China Sea.

Under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the military is operating further from Japan's home islands as it takes on a bigger role to counter growing Chinese military activity in the region.

The satellite lifted off from Japan's Tanegashima space port aboard an H-IIA rocket at 0744 GMT and successfully entered orbit, said a spokesman for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which builds the launcher.

The satellite is one of three planned so-called X-band satellites, that will quadruple broadband capacity, unify a fractured and overburdened communications network and allow communications across more territory.

Japan and China are locked in a territorial dispute in the East China Sea over a group of uninhabited islands known as the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. The two countries are also at odds over the exploitation of gas fields that straddle exclusive economic zones claimed by both.

Japan, the main U.S. ally in Asia, is concerned that a recent increase in Chinese military activity in the area is a sign it is looking to extend its military influence from the neighboring South China Sea as a challenge to U.S. maritime dominance. (end of excerpt)

Click here for the full story, on the Reuters website.

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Launch Results of the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 32 with X-band Defense Communication Satellite-2 On Board

(Source: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA; issued Jan 24, 2017)

At 4:44 p.m., (Japan Standard Time, JST) January 24, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and JAXA launched the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 32 with X-band defense communication satellite-2* on board. The launch and the separation of the satellite proceeded according to schedule.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and JAXA express appreciation for the support in behalf of the successful launch.

At the time of the launch the weather was fine, at 9 degrees Celsius, and the wind speed was 7.1 meters/second from the NW.

* Built and operated by DSN Corporation, subsidiary of SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation, as part of development and operation of X-band satellite communications for the Japanese Ministry of Defense.

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