By Xinhua
Tokyo : Japan Saturday launched a high-speed data transmission satellite, the nation’s space agency said.
A H-2A rocket carrying the satellite ‘Kizuna’ lifted off at 17.55 p.m. from the space centre on the island of Tanegashima off the southern tip of Kyushu Island in southern Japan.
A spokeswoman for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said the launch went smoothly.
The initial launching was successful despite a delay due to bad weather and an unexpected ship entry in restricted waters near the space centre, the official said.
Kizuna, jointly developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd and JAXA, is designed to enable super high-speed communications of up to 1.2 gigabit-per-second to allow low-cost, easy access to information across Japan and in other parts of the Asia-Pacific region.