JAPAN TO LAUNCH FIRST-EVER 'SPY' SATELLITE, TARGETING N. KOREA, AT 8:27 P.M. EASTERN TONIGHT

Yahoo News, Sankei, Yomiuri, Asahi, etc. etc. (in Japanese) ^ | 27 March 2003 | AmericanInTokyo

[AmericanInTokyo]

This will be pretty big news in Northeast Asia (in the next few hours).

This will be the first attempt by Japan to put spy satellites in orbit. They are moving ahead quickly on this because of the threat from misbehaving North Korea.

The time will be: 8:27 p.m. Thursday Eastern Time. The launch site for the H-2 rocket is Tanegashima Island in southern Japan. There is heavy security there. (Open source information).

No Japanese websites, (that I have noticed), are planning to webcast, although they have webcast other satellite launches in the past.

News stories should break on the Web soon after, depending upon success or failure today.

North Korea is then liable to "launch" their own vitriol and anger at Japan in the next few days through their press, or perhaps threatening countermeasures. It could be bitter words, or it could be a Nodong test launch of their own in response at this point.

Stay tuned.

[Semper Paratus]

Every you move you make,
Every missle you shake,
We'll be watching you.

[RightWhale]

Good luck on the H-2 launch. The H-2 has had more than its share of problems.

[cmsgop]

Thanks!

[Steely Tom]

Will it have a fake leather carrying case attached, with "Made In Japan" embossed on the bottom?

Just kidding. Good luck Japan.

(steely)

[Southack]

Do we know if this will be a polar orbit, equatorial orbit, geosynchonous orbit, or low-Earth orbit spy sat yet (publicly, at least)?

[yonif]

BTTT

[kjam22]

It will be 1/3 the size of an american spy satellite. Twice the memory, and be expandable. But it's clock will blink 12:00 forever.

[HighRoadToChina]

Bump!

[tomahawk]

Good luck to our Japanese allies.

[AmericanInTokyo]

geostationary transit orbit

[templar]

So take that North Korea! Japan can launch spy satellites and all you can launch are nuclear bombs.

[SamAdams76]

Hopefully the U.S. can share data from our own satellites with Japan about N. Korea. Since WW2, they have been one of our staunchest allies and they deserve our highest level of support. (They were one of the first countries to support us unconditionally on Iraq.)

[shadowman99]

Not an easy orbit to achieve, Korea doesn't have a lifting body that can do it. You need to put a satellite WAY out there, meaning the optics need to be far superior to a near-earth orbit spy satellite to get the same results.

Japan has been a good ally recently. Break a leg to them.

[AmericanInTokyo]

indeed, geostationary orbit is the most ideal and most difficult to achieve for this kind of thing.

[Darksheare]

Uh Oh, Li'l kim Jong Ill is going to be upset about that.
He's going to spout more insane rantings about how he's being provoked.
I know, I know, patience- one war at a time.
But sometimes it's just SO hard to watch Little Kim dance around spouting his crap, starving his people, supporting terror and blaming it on us or anyone else that comes into his stage 2 syphilitic mind.

It's just so hard to be patient when you see a snake that needs to be stomped.

Hopefully, Japan has their backsides covered on this one.
Keep your head down, stay safe, keep reporting.

[Southack]

"geostationary transit orbit"

Ouch. That means that Japan is willing to spend the money for a long-term spy sat to be up there, alluding to North Korea being a problem for a long time.

Myself, I suspect that North Korea's antics will alienate the wrong people sufficiently to bring about a rather near-term solution to their problematic regime.

But apparently our Japanese allies are more conservative than me...

[Stopislamnow]

Above and beyond the satellite, which I wish them luck on, this is important for NK to see Japan's ballistic missle capability.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Their 'IGS' to be launched in a little over three hours from now, will probably be on par with the open US commercial satellite applications they rely on now in addition to information from the US-side birds. But they are getting there. And they will work and work and work till it is first class, technologically speaking, bar none.

After all, the future of their nation and "Yamato Minzoku" is now at stake. They have no illusions.

[Magnum44]

indeed, geostationary orbit is the most ideal and most difficult to achieve for this kind of thing.

Depends on what they are using it for. Geo is too far away to get good photos, but its good for early launch detection systems, and some other types of intel. What was the source that gave the desired orbit?

PS - a geo-TRANSFER orbit is where the LV leaves the satellite (when geo is the final orbit), and the satellite is responsible for getting from the transfer orbit to geosynchronous.

Regards,