Japan successfully launches Epsilon-3 small rocket
KIMOTSUKI, Japan : The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or Jaxa, successfully launched on Thursday its third Epsilon small rocket carrying an Earth observation satellite, Japan’s Jiji Press reported.
The Epsilon- 3 solid-fuel launch vehicle released the Asnaro2 satellite into orbit about 52 minutes after the liftoff at the Uchinoura Space Centre in Kimotsuki, Kagoshima Prefecure, at 6.06am.
Flight experiments for the Epsilon series, developed for lowcost satellite launches, ended with the third version, and full-fledged operation of the series will start with the Epsilon- 4, Jaxa said.
Cost- cutting efforts for the Epsilon development included the use of a solid rocket booster for Japan’s mainstay H-2A large launch vehicle.
Takayuki Imoto, head of the Epsi lon project, told a news conference that his team was able to realise a rocket ‘gentle to a satel lite’ with reduced vibrations.
“We ai m to improve the technology to develop a more user- friendly and competitive rocket,” Imoto added.
The Epsi lon- 3, which is 26 metres long and weighs 95.6 tonnes, can carry a heavier satellite. It can also smoothly and precisely inject a satellite into a target orbit, according to Jaxa.
The day’s satel lite launch needed about 4.5 billion yen. But the agency aims to cut the cost to three billion yen in the future.
The A sn a r o - 2 c omp ac t satellite, which makes possible observations of the Earth’s surface even at night and through clouds, was developed by NEC Corp in a government- funded project to boost exports of satellites to emerging economies.
Despite its high performance, the satellite can be produced in a short period at a low cost, the agency said. — Bernama