Japans launches another reconnaissance satellite into space

On the morning of January 26, Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries launched an H2A space rocket equipped with the Radar 7 satellite into space with the goal of gathering information.

As reported by the Nikkei publication, the launch was carried out at the Tanegashima Space Center, belonging to the group of Ösumi islands in the South-West of the country. It was initially scheduled for January 25, but was postponed due to bad weather conditions.

Radar 7 will form part of an existing group of eight reconnaissance vehicles. These are optical satellites equipped with opto-electronic survey equipment and radar satellites using radar imagery. Radar 7 is intended to replace Radar 5, which was launched in 2017.

On February 12, Japan will launch the next generation H3 rocket, expected to be able to carry heavier satellites than the H2A predecessor.