Japan to launch joint military, scientific optical data relay satellite - NASASpaceflight.com

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The Optical Data Relay Satellite payload aboard this mission will be used to relay data collected by Japan’s fleet of Information Gathering Satellites (IGS) – including both optical and radar-imaging reconnaissance spacecraft – back to Earth for analysis

The mission used the H-IIA F-43, marking the 43rd flight of Japan’s workhorse H-IIA rocket and the 59th mission overall for the H-II family of vehicles

A third rocket, H-IIB, was derived from the H-IIA to provide a route to orbit for the heavy H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV or Kounotori), the first-generation Japanese cargo spacecraft used to resupply the International Space Station that ended its service in August 2020

Since then, the rocket has served admirably, carrying out missions for the Japanese government – including military satellites and scientific missions for JAXA – as well as securing commercial launch contracts and launching the United Arab Emirates’ al-Amal mission to Mars in July 2020

Pad 1 was originally built for the H-II rocket and converted for use by H-IIA, while Pad 2 was added as a backup for the H-IIA but was instead used for H-IIB missions

First stage ignition occurred a few seconds beforehand, with the solid rocket motors lighting at X-0 to propel H-IIA F-43 into the sky above Tanegashima

An H-IIA 202 rocket rolls out ahead of the IGS-Optical 6 mission in February 2018

On a typical H-IIA mission, the first stage burns for around 6 minutes 30 seconds before shutting down its engine and beginning the stage separation sequence

The timing of mission events following second stage ignition can vary significantly from mission to mission, and as no timeline has been published in advance of this launch, previous missions must be used as a guide for what is likely to occur

Al Amal nearing the end of launch on the second stage of the H-IIA rocket

A two-burn mission would see the second stage fire for between 5 and 6 minutes in its first burn to reach an initial parking orbit, with an 11 to 12 minute coast following before the second burn – of approximately 3 minutes – to place the satellite into their planned transfer orbit

Under this profile, spacecraft separation can be expected after the end of the second burn – less than 30 minutes after liftoff

The alternative three-burn profile would see a shorter first burn and a longer second burn than with the two-burn profile, with the mission entering an extended coast phase after the second burn has been completed

This launch was Japan’s fourth – and likely last – of 2020

It follows H-IIA launches in February, with an IGS optical reconnaissance satellite and in July with the UAE’s Al-Amal mission to Mars, as well as the final flight of the H-IIB rocket, which carried an HTV resupply mission to the International Space Station in May

Japan has not yet announced what the next H-IIA mission will be; however, several flights are expected to occur next year – including a replacement satellite for the QZSS navigation system, a commercial launch for British communications company Inmarsat, and a further IGS mission