Article: Information Gathering Satellite are the satellites of the Japanese spy satellite program. It was started as a response to the 1998 North Korean missile test over Japan. The satellite program's main mission is to provide early warning of impending hostile launches in the region. This program is under the direct control of the cabinet. All Information Gathering Satellites have been launched by H-IIA rockets from the Tanegashima Space Center.
History
On 28 March 2003, presumably partly in response to North Korea's launch of a Taepodong-1 missile over Japan in 1998, and partly to provide a source of satellite images other than through cooperation with the US, where the US charged roughly US$10,000 for each satellite image, very specific amount, but current sources only state that the US charged Japan -- not how much Japan launched a radar and an optical spy satellite, officially known as IGS 1A and IGS 1B. These satellites follow one another at 37-minute separation in a 492 km orbit, which passes over Pyongyang at 11:22 each day, according to observations collected on the satellite watching mailing list.
The program suffered a setback when Japan lost the second pair of satellites because of an H-IIA launch failure on 29 November 2003.
Except the satellite which failed in launching, a second optical surveillance satellite IGS 3A was launched on 11 September 2006.
A third optical satellite IGS 4A and a second radar satellite IGS 4B were launched on 24 February 2007. IGS 4A is a more advanced and experimental optical satellite.
A fourth optical satellite IGS 5A was launched on 28 November 2009. This satellite has a higher resolution than the previous generations.
Late March 2007, the first SAR satellite in the series, IGS 1B, suffered a critical power failure.· The satellite has since been observed to steadily come down and was clearly no longer under control. An uncontrolled re-entry of this satellite occurred on 26 July 2012. Since summer 2010, another of the SAR satellites, IGS 4B has also been unable to carry out its monitoring functions.
On 9 February 2020, Japan launched IGS-Optical 7 reconnaissance satellite from the Tanegashima Space Center aboard an H-2A rocket. The launch had been delayed by 12-days due to a nitrogen leak, located within a system that provided conditioned air to the rocket, which was discovered sometime before the countdown to launch was aborted on 27 January. Following the discovery of the leak, the rocket was returned to its vertical assembly building, where it underwent repairs. Following the completion of the repairs, the rocket was rolled back out to Launch Pad No. 1 on 7 February, before the scheduled second launch attempt.
List of launches
Launch Date (UTC) NORAD Designation Japanese Government DesignationSensor TypeNORAD IDInternational codeStatusGenerationBelieved ResolutionInitial Orbital ParameterVehicleResult28 March 2003 IGS 1A IGS-Optical 1 Optical27698 Retired1st generation of opticalPanchromatic sensor:About 1 m (mono)Multi-spectral sensor:About 5 m (color)486–491 km, 97.3°, 94.4 minH2A 2024Success IGS 1B IGS-Radar 1 SAR27699 Retired 1st generation of SARAbout 1~3 m29 November 2003 N/A Nameless for launching failureOpticalN/AN/AN/A1st generation of opticalPanchromatic sensor:About 1 m (mono)Multi-spectral sensor:About 5 m (color)N/AH2A 2024Failure N/A Nameless for launching failureSARN/AN/AN/A1st generation of SARAbout 1~3 m11 September 2006 IGS 3A IGS-Optical 2 Optical29393 Retired2nd generation of optical(Improved type)1 m478–479 km, 97.4°, 94.2 minH2A 202Success24 February 2007 IGS 4A IGS-Optical 3V Optical30586 Retired3rd generation of optical(Largely improved type)About 60 cm481–494 km, 97.2°, 94.4 minH2A 2024Success IGS 4B IGS-Radar 2 SAR30587 Retired 2nd generation of SAR(Improved type)1 m28 November 2009 IGS 5A IGS-Optical 3 Optical36104 Retired 3rd generation of optical(Largely improved type)About 60 cmUnknownH2A 202Success22 September 2011 IGS 6A IGS-Optical 4 Optical37813 Retired4th generation of opticalAbout 60 cmUnknownH2A 202Success12 December 2011 IGS 7A IGS-Radar 3 SAR37954 Operational3rd generation of SARAbout 1 mUnknownH2A 202Success27 January 2013 IGS 8A IGS-Radar 4 SAR 39061 Operational3rd generation of SARAbout 1 mUnknownH2A 202Success IGS 8B IGS-Optical 5V Optical 39062 Retired5th generation of optical40 cm1 February 2015 IGS 9A IGS-Radar SpareSAR 40381 Operational3rd generation of SARAbout 1 mUnknownH2A 202Success26 March 2015 IGS O-5 IGS-Optical 5 Optical 40538 Operational5th generation of optical30 cm or 40 cm UnknownH2A 202Success17 March 2017 IGS R-5 IGS-Radar 5 SAR 42072 Operational4th generation of SAR50 cm UnknownH2A 202Success27 February 2018 IGS O-6 IGS-Optical 6 Optical 43223 Operational 30 cm Unknown H2A 202 Success12 June 2018 IGS R-6 IGS-Radar 6 SAR 43495 Operational 50 cm Unknown H2A 202 Success9 February 2020 IGS O-7 IGS-Optical 7 Optical 45165 Operational Higher performance than 30 cm Unknown H2A 202 Success26 January 2023 IGS R-7 IGS-Radar 7 SAR 55329 2023-012A Operational Higher performance than IGS R-6 Unknown H2A 202 Success12 January 2024 IGS O-8 IGS-Optical 8 Optical Testing Higher performance than 25 cm Unknown H2A 202 Success
References External links
"Lifting The Darkness On Japan's Next Spy Satellite", SpaceDaily, 27 November 2006. |
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Japan launches optical spy satellite
February 9, 2020 Stephen Clark EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated after launch.
An H-2A rocket lifted off at 10:34 a.m. Japan Standard Time on Monday from the Tanegashima Space Center with a Japanese intelligence-gathering satellite. Credit: NVS video
Japan launched an optical reconnaissance satellite from the Tanegashima Space Center Sunday aboard an H-2A rocket after a 12-day delay caused by a nitrogen leak.
Japanese crews returned the H-2A rocket to its vertical assembly building at Tanegashima for repairs following the aborted countdown Jan. 27. Officials from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, builder and prime contractor for the H-2A rocket, said the leak detected during the previous countdown was in the system providing conditioned air to the rocket.
The 174-foot-tall (53-meter) H-2A rocket returned to Launch Pad No. 1 at the Yoshinobu launch complex at Tanegashima Saturday in preparation for the mission’s second launch attempt.
MHI teams gave approval to load super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants into the two-stage H-2A rocket in the hours before liftoff.
MHI and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, which owns the Tanegashima Space Center, did provide a live webcast of Sunday’s mission. Japanese launch officials typically provide live video coverage of space launches, but not for missions carrying the country’s spy satellites.
News media and spectators gathered around Tanegashima streamed live video of the launch from nearby viewing sites.
After beginning an automated terminal countdown sequence, the H-2A switched to internal power and pressurized its cryogenic propellant tanks before igniting its first stage LE-7A main engine at T-minus 5.2 seconds.
The engine throttled up and passed a computer-controlled health check before the H-2A ignited two strap-on solid rocket boosters to climb away from Tanegashima Island in southern Japan at 0134 GMT Sunday (8:34 p.m. EST Saturday).
Liftoff occurred at 10:34 a.m. Japan Standard Time on Sunday.
The H-2A rocket soared into clear skies and headed toward the south from Tanegahima with 1.4 million pounds of thrust from its first stage engine and strap-on boosters. The solid-fueled rocket motors burned out and jettison nearly two minutes into the flight, and the H-2A’s aerodynamic payload shroud separated roughly four minutes after liftoff.
Shutdown of the LE-7A first stage engine and stage separation occurred nearly seven minutes into the mission, and the upper stage’s LE-5B engine fired to place the Japanese government’s newest spy satellite into polar orbit.
Officials confirmed separation of the intelligence-gathering payload around 21 minutes after liftoff.
Japan’s government-owned orbiting robotic spy platforms are officially known as “Information Gathering Satellites” and come in radar and optical imaging variants. The spacecraft awaiting liftoff on the next H-2A flight — designated IGS Optical 7 — is the 18th Information Gathering Satellite launched by Japan’s government since 2003, including two satellites lost in an H-2A launch failure.
The spacecraft’s specifications, including its imaging performance, are kept secret by the Japanese government. The Information Gathering Satellites are operated by the Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center, which reports directly to the Japanese government’s executive leadership.
The H-2A rocket with the IGS Optical 7 satellite flew in the basic “202” configuration with two strap-on solid rocket boosters. Heavier satellites launching on the H-2A sometimes need four boosters to reach orbit.
The mission marked the 41st flight of an H-2A rocket since 2001, and the first Japanese space launch of 2020.
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Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center
Earth Observation H-2A H-2A F41 IGS IGS Optical 7 Japan Launch Military Space Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Tanegashima Space Center Related Articles Mission Reports
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