Japan launches intelligence satellite to monitor North Korea's missile sites, weather

Japan on Thursday, January 26, launched an intelligence-gathering radar satellite to monitor the North Korean weather, as well as for the purpose of disaster response, and surveillance at the North Korean military activity sites, according to the Japanese-based Kyodo news. The No. 46 H2A rocket, lifted from the Tanegashima Space Center located in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima at about 10:50 am, January 25 morning.

To monitor North Korea's missile launch sites

Japan's Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center, which tasked Mitsubishi center with the launch on January 25 said that the satellite was launched after a day's delay, which was caused due to bad weather. The satellite, capable of capturing high-resolution photos even at night and during severe weather conditions, entered its planned orbit, the firm announced.

The H2A rocket launched by the Japanese government was the 40th consecutive successful blast since the No. 7 H2A rocket in 2005. It can capture photos from hundreds of kilometers of distance from the Earth as well as monitor the missile launch sites in North Korea. According to Japan's Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center, at least nine satellites are in operation, of those five are radar and three are optical that can capture images during the daytime. The Japanese government aims to operate an estimated 10 satellites until the fiscal year 2028.

North Korea commenced the New Year with a ballistic missile launch into the sea off the Korean peninsula's east coast, South Korea. Japanese officials condemned the provocation as the defence ministry of South Korea said in a statement that at around 6:53 a.m. (local time), Pyongyang launched a short-range ballistic missile from the Taecheon region of North Pyongang province. The ballistic missile plunged into the sea of Japan. South Korean Presidential Office later fired warnings at the North Korean regime to halt its rampant missile launches that pose regional threats, adding that North Korea might be prepared to also launch an SLBM from the city of Sinpo on its east coast. The missile was reported to have a flight path of around 600 kilometers, at an altitude of 60 kilometers, and a speed of roughly Mach 5.