Japanese data relay satellite set for launch on H-2A rocket - Spaceflight Now

A Japanese satellite designed to relay data and imagery from civilian and military Earth observation spacecraft is set for liftoff Sunday aboard an H-2A rocket.

The dual-use communications satellite is scheduled to ride an H-2A rocket into orbit at 2:25 a.m.

The H-2A rocket will deploy the spacecraft — part of the Japan Data Relay System, or JDRS — into an elliptical geostationary transfer orbit about a half-hour after liftoff.

A single data relay satellite can communicate with a user spacecraft for about 40 minutes on each orbit, relaying imagery, scientific data, and other information between the Earth observation satellite and a ground station.

The new optical data relay satellite replaces JAXA’s Kodama spacecraft, which had S-band and Ka-band inter-satellite links providing communication speeds of about 240 megabits per second.

The laser-equipped relay satellite will permit data transmission speeds up 1.8 gigabits per second, more than seven times faster than the speeds possible with Kodama.

Designed for a 10-year mission, the new optical data relay satellite will serve Japanese civilian-operated Earth observation satellites and Japan’s fleet intelligence-gathering surveillance spacecraft spying on North Korea and other strategic points of interest.

Japanese data relay satellite set for launch on H-2A rocket