Japan Postpones Satellite Launch Due to Rainfall

Japan postpones satellite launch due to rainfall

TOKYO, Feb.21 (Xinhua) — Japan delayed the launch of an infrared satellite due to rainfall, reports said on Tuesday morning.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency announced through its website shortly after 6 a.m. that it decided to postpone the liftoff, originally set for 6:28 a.m. (2128 GMT), for 24 hours to the same time a day later, because the unfavorable weather could endanger the rocket’s launch.

The infrared ray astronomical satellite, Astro-F, will be conveyed into its orbit by a M5 rocket from the Uchinoura Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture.

The satellite, with a mission to probe the Milky Way and astronomical phenomena, is Japan’s first infrared satellite, said an earlier report of Kyodo News.