IGS-5 (Optical No.3) - H-2A -28.11.09 04:21 ДМВ-Tanegashima

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html

Nov. 27/28    H-2A   •  IGS
Launch window: Approx. 0100-0300 GMT on 28th (8:00-10:00 p.m. EST on 27th)
Launch site: Tanegashima Space Center, Japan

The Japanese H-2A rocket will launch an optical Information Gathering Satellite for the Japanese government. The secretive spacecraft will join a fleet of other reconnaissance satellites to gather imagery for defense purposes. [Oct. 12]

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http://www.physorg.com/news152774119.html

Japanese government plans powerful information-gathering satellite
February 2nd, 2009 The Yomiuri Shimbun

Aiming to drastically beef up the performance of the nation's intelligence satellites, the government of Japan will embark on a research and development program in fiscal year 2009 to develop an optical information-gathering satellite that will have one of the world's highest resolutions.

The envisioned satellite will be able to identify objects on the ground with far greater precision than the most advanced commercial satellites, officials said Saturday.

The best among currently available commercial surveillance satellites is said to be able to identify objects with a diameter of as little as 40 centimeters.

The government program is aimed at surpassing the 40-centimeter resolution capability.

Although detailed capabilities of military satellites of foreign countries are secret, only U.S. satellites are believed to have a sub-40-centimeter resolution.

Under the R&D program for the ultra-high-resolution satellite, a demonstration satellite is scheduled to be launched in fiscal year 2012 to ascertain its performance in space, they said.

A full-fledged optical information-collecting satellite with the envisaged cutting-edge optical capability will be put into orbit in fiscal year 2014, officials said on condition of anonymity.

The program is designed to greatly boost the capability of Japan's intelligence satellite on the strength of the enactment in May of the Basic Law on Space, which empowered the government to utilize space for defense purposes.

Before the enactment of the law, information-gathering satellites were limited to nonmilitary uses because of a resolution in 1969 that restricted the utilization of space to peaceful purposes. Because of this restriction, development of a satellite utilizing a higher level of technology than that used for making ordinary commercial ones was forbidden.

The satellite, called Optical No. 5, is planned to be launched in fiscal year 2014.

The Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center, in charge of operating information-gathering satellites and analyzing their imagery, has incorporated 6.8 billion yen into its budgetary demand for fiscal year 2009 for funding research into the development of Optical No. 5. The research will focus on ways of enhancing the satellite's resolution and improving the brightness of images. In addition, 3.3 billion yen will separately be allocated for the development of the demonstration satellite, according to the officials.

Japan currently has four information-gathering satellites: two optical satellites, which take photos of ground objects by means of visible light using high-tech digital cameras; and two radar satellites, which use radio waves to collect data on objects, enabling them to "see" through cloud or in darkness. The optical satellites currently in operation have a resolution of about one meter.

After the constraints on space development were lifted with the enactment of the Basic Law on Space, the Defense Ministry announced a "basic outline for a space development strategy" on Jan. 16.

"By bolstering the performance of the nation's intelligence satellites," the outline said, "this country should further enhance the quality and quantity of image information that can be acquired by the satellites."

The higher the resolution of satellite imagery, the easier it is to grasp the status of other countries' military facilities as well as the aftermath of natural disasters and accidents, the ministry said.

Prior to the launch of Optical No. 5, CSICE is scheduled to launch in fiscal year 2010 a new type of information-gathering satellite, Optical No. 3, capable of identifying objects with a diameter of about 60 centimeters, the officials said.

(c) 2009, The Yomiuri Shimbun.
Visit the Daily Yomiuri Online at http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/index-e.htm/

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http://spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html

Nov. 27/28    H-2A   •  IGS
Launch window: 0105-0332 GMT on 28th (8:05-10:32 p.m. EST on 27th)
Launch site: Tanegashima Space Center, Japan

The Japanese H-2A rocket will launch an optical Information Gathering Satellite for the Japanese government. The secretive spacecraft will join a fleet of other reconnaissance satellites to gather imagery for defense purposes. [Nov. 12]

[Брабонт]

Носитель на стартовом столе:



Пусковое окно открывается в 01:21 GMT 28 ноября, что соответствует прохождению через плоскость орбиты первой пары КА IGS (по данным от сентября, что несущественно для покойного 1A):

[Брабонт]

Теперь вопрос: какой обтекатель стоял на H-2A при пуске 11.09.2006 - 4S, как в текущем?

P.S. Всё правильно, 4S. Спасибо Старому и герру Брюгге.

[Salo]

Вывоз ракеты на стартовый комплекс:
http://blog.livedoor.jp/h2a_f8/

[Брабонт]

Улетела как и ожидалось, в 01:21 GMT. Частное видео пуска по ссылке выше. К-сожалению, обстоятельства видимости сабжа резко затрудняют визуальный поиск любителями - вся надежда на двух наблюдателей в Южной Африке. Про радиодиапазон пока неясно.

[Salo]

http://eyevio.jp/movie/322913

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http://spaceflightnow.com/h2a/f16/index.html

Japan launches spy satellite under veil of secrecy
BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: November 28, 2009

In an unpublicized launch lacking fanfare, an H-2A rocket successfully boosted Japan's most advanced spy satellite to orbit on Saturday from the country's island space center.

The 174-foot-tall launcher lifted off at 0121 GMT Saturday (8:21 p.m. EST Friday) from Launch Pad No. 1 at the Yoshinobu complex on the southern shore of Tanegashima Island. The rocket's launch occurred at 10:21 a.m. local time.

The two-stage rocket turned south from Tanegashima and jettisoned a pair of solid fuel-burning boosters two minutes into the flight. The hydrogen-fueled first and second stages propelled the top secret Information Gathering Satellite into a polar orbit about 15 minutes after leaving Earth.

Japanese government officials declared the launch a success, according to news reports.

The mission was shrouded in secrecy at the space center, which is operated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The space agency released no information on the launch, and a JAXA web camera was turned away from the launch complex after the H-2A rocket rolled to the pad.

The supposed payload was a more than $500 million satellite outfitted with an optical camera and telescope to supply imagery to the Japanese government for intelligence, defense and civilian remote sensing applications. The spacecraft will become the fifth operational member of Japan's spy satellite fleet.

Two optical reconnaissance craft and two satellites with ground-mapping radars were deployed on previous launches. Radars in orbit can collect all-weather imagery during day and night passes.

Another set of spy satellites were lost in an H-2A launch failure in 2003, the only blemish in 16 flights of Japan's workhorse launcher.

Japan established the space-based reconnaissance program after North Korea fired a test missile over Japanese territory in 1998. The country's spy satellites have become increasingly more advanced since then, but officials have provided no official specifications on the satellite launched Saturday.

Another North Korean missile test over Japan in April prompted further consideration of an early warning satellite with an infrared sensor dedicated to detecting missile launches.

Saturday's flight was the third Japanese space launch of the year, including the maiden launch of the beefed up H-2B rocket with the HTV cargo ship for the International Space Station

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http://www.lenta.ru/news/2009/11/28/satellite/

28.11.2009, 08:44:04 Япония запустила пятый спутник-шпион


Запуск ракеты с японским спутником-шпионом. Фото ©AP

В субботу с космодрома на японском острове Танэгасима была запущена ракета H-2A с пятым спутником-шпионом, передает агентство Associated Press. Запуск прошел успешно.

Спутник будет собирать информацию для оборонных и дипломатических целей, пояснили в правительстве страны. Он сможет получать высокоточные изображения с орбиты несколько сотен километров. Космический аппарат проработает в космосе около пяти лет.

В космосе уже находятся три японских спутника-шпиона, первые два из которых запустили в 2003 году. Четвертый перестал выходить на связь в 2007 году из-за поломки электрооборудования.

В 2008 году, напоминает агентство, парламент Японии проголосовал за использование национальной космической программы в целях обороны.

[Salo]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/slideshow/ALeqM5gBIJ8T69mtFaIpWSrsNGuUIoPWsgD9C8CLQG0?index=0

[Salo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp1mBMf67ZI&feature=player_embedded

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http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=20242.0

On Saturday Nov. 28, 2009 Japan launched its fifth spy satellite IGS-5 (Optical-3) from the island of Tanegashima. The government official at the Cabinet Office said the launch was a success and it reached its specific orbit. However I have been monitoring the reported IGS-5 satellite for several months for the reconfirmation of its orbital data in our Space Tracking system, I have found out that IGS-5 satellite is not working (no sign of communication) and it is currently escaping its original orbit. To verify the truth I've met my friend working in JAXA as a senior engineer, and I was told that high officials from Cabinet Office are currently investigating the launch of H-IIA F16 and every staff is being questioned in strict secrecy.
He also said that he is not very sure of its failure of IGS-5 but personally he thinks it has failed.

[Андрей Суворов]

Молодцы японцы, умеют хранить военную тайну!

[Старый]

Таааккк... Интересно, кто-нибудь его наблюдает? Орбита строго солнечно-синхронная? Время прохода узла не дрейфует?

[Брабонт]

А кто знает - из-за крайне неблагоприятных условий видимости в северном полушарии любители его до сих пор не нашли. Если отказал, это нам на руку, меньше неопределённость.

Странная фраза про no sign of communication в контексте всего поста...

[Старый]

А всякие там австралийцы/южноафриканцы?
Эх, где счас Пири...

[Старый]

Странная фраза про no sign of communication в контексте всего поста...

Может быть остальные пищат в УКВ а этот нет?

[Брабонт]

А точнее, в эс-бэнд. Мне не совсем понятна логика Aкира-сан (хотя с английским в этой стране беда, знаю по работе с японцами); вот Вам как кажется, что он за специалист в этой японской СККП?

А всякие там австралийцы/южноафриканцы?

По солнечно-синхронникам тоже не айс - тридцатые широты...

[Старый]

Мне не совсем понятна логика Aкира-сан (хотя с английским в этой стране беда, знаю по работе с японцами); вот Вам как кажется, что он за специалист в этой японской СККП?

Понятитя не имею. У меня вообще кроме как с "а керосин?" других ассоциаций он не вызывает...