Tokyo

Japan’s Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center said Monday it will launch an information-gathering optical satellite on an H-2A rocket Jan. 27, 2020.

The H-2A Launch Vehicle No. 41 will lift off from the Tanegashima Space Center of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, between 10 a.m. (1 a.m. GMT) and noon. Alternative dates are from Jan. 28 to Feb. 29.

Japan introduced information-gathering satellites effectively for reconnaissance use, following a North Korean ballistic missile launch in 1998.

In 2013, Japan shifted to a system operating at least two optical-sensor satellites for observations in good weather and two radar satellites capable of making observations in bad weather and at night. The system allows Japan to take pictures of anywhere on Earth once a day.

The new optical satellite is the successor to the one launched in March 2015. At present, seven information-gathering satellites are in operation, including those that have passed their designed lifetimes.

Jiji Press