On Wednesday, September 25, at 10:24 PM – 10:25 PM PDT, the IGS Radar 8 Japanese radar reconnaissance satellite will launch from Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-1, Tanegashima Space Center, Japan. The H-IIA 202 rocket is an active expendable launch system operated by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
The satellite is operated by the Cabinet Satellite Information Center, and serves both Japan’s national defense and civil natural disaster monitoring.
The mission cost is $90,000,000.
The forecast calls for a temperature of 79°F, scattered clouds, 41% cloud cover and a wind speed of 21 mph.
The liquid-fueled H-IIA rockets have been used to launch satellites into geostationary orbit, to launch a lunar orbiting spacecraft, and to launch Akatsuki, which studied the planet Venus. Launches occur at the Tanegashima Space Center.
Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-1 has witnessed the launch of 55 rockets, including 55 orbital launch attempts, while Tanegashima Space Center, Japan, has been the site for 91 rocket launches.
