Spy satellite race in Asia heats up with Japan rocket launch

A rocket carrying the latest addition to Japan’s network of spy satellites has reached orbit, a major step for the island nation as its neighbors also look to strengthen their surveillance capabilities in space.

The H2-A heavy payload rocket, co-developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., took off around 1:44 p.m. local time Friday.

The rocket’s booster separated successfully shortly after the launch as it carried the satellite toward low-Earth orbit Friday, where the probe will monitor North Korean missile sites and natural disasters, according to Mitsubishi Heavy.

It’s been a busy period for launches in the region. North Korea successfully put its first spy satellite into orbit in November and plans to launch three more in 2024, state media reported. South Korea’s first domestically made reconnaissance satellite launched on a SpaceX rocket in December and Seoul has two more lined up this year.

China by early 2022 had more than 290 systems in its spy satellite fleet, nearly double the amount in 2018 and second only to the US, according to the Pentagon’s latest assessment of the Chinese military.

Replacement Rocket

The H2-A is one of the world’s most reliable heavy payload rockets but JAXA is ending the program and working on a new-generation rocket. After Friday’s mission, the agency has only two remaining H2-A rockets. 

Its replacement, the H3, is behind schedule following a test launch last March, when the spacecraft and the satellite it was carrying crashed into the Philippine Sea. JAXA will make another attempt in February.

The H3 is crucial for JAXA to provide an alternative to Elon Musk’s SpaceX as demand grows in the commercial space industry for small and large orbital payload rockets.

SpaceX completed 96 orbital launches in 2023, Musk wrote on X last month, far more than any of its rivals.

Several space companies want to start narrowing the gap. United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp., on Jan. 8 had the first launch of its Vulcan rocket, which was originally set for 2019. The European Space Agency has set a target of June or July for the launch of its long-delayed Ariane 6 rocket.