Japan launches two new spy satellites
Japan has launched two more satellites to boost its surveillance capabilities amid Pyongyang's threat to conduct a nuclear test.
According to NHK, the H-2A rocket carrying a radar satellite and an optical satellite took off from the launch pad at Tanegashima Space Center (southern Japan) at 11:40 (Vietnam time) on January 27.
A rocket carrying a spy satellite was launched from Japan - Photo: AP
A satellite equipped with radar can detect small objects regardless of day or night or in cloudy conditions when operating at an altitude of hundreds of kilometers above the Earth's surface.
The new satellite - joining a radar satellite and other optical satellites already in operation - will complete Japan's surveillance system first launched in the late 1990s to counter North Korea after Pyongyang launched a long-range rocket in 1998.
The system allows Japan to monitor anywhere in the world at least once a day.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe welcomed the successful launch of the satellite. "The government will make full use of the system's capabilities to enhance national security and crisis management," NHK quoted Prime Minister Abe as saying.
Optical satellites are mainly used for applied research purposes to test new technologies, thereby making improvements for Japan to enhance its reconnaissance capabilities. Currently, Japan's intelligence technology still has to "rely" on its American allies.
Although the satellite launch plan has been planned for a long time, it emphasizes Japan's vigilance towards the military technological capabilities and intentions of the DPRK.
AFP quoted an announcement from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency saying that the newly launched satellite was used to collect information, such as data related to the March 2011 double disaster, and did not directly mention the DPRK.
Since the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution to sanction the DPRK for its missile launch, Pyongyang has continuously threatened to conduct more missile launches and conduct a third nuclear test. Japan is one of the countries in the flight path of North Korea's missiles.
According to Tuoi Tre - DT
