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Japan Plans to Launch Spy Satellites

Posted on: Wednesday, 25 August 2004, 06:00 CDT

TOKYO - A Japanese government panel has approved plans to send two spy satellites into Earth's orbit beginning next year, a media report said Wednesday.

If confirmed, the missions would be the first since late 2003 for Japan's ailing space program, which has suffered a slew of launch and mission failures.

The government has earmarked 69.9 billion yen (US$635 million) for the project in 2005, when Japan's space agency would send the first probe, designed to snap high-resolution pictures of objects on the ground such as buildings, public broadcaster NHK TV said.

The second probe, which would use radar to analyze topography, would go up in 2006, NHK said, citing a Cabinet Office official.

A Cabinet Office spokesman refused to comment on the report.

The government had planned to put a total of eight spy satellites into orbit through 2006 to keep watch on North Korea, Japan's No. 1 security concern. It now has two spy satellites orbiting the planet.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, has suspended several missions since an H-2A rocket carrying two Japanese spy satellites was destroyed by mission controllers after it veered off course last November.

The H2-A was meant to be a cheaper and more reliable replacement for its predecessor, and a key to Tokyo's hopes for advancing a commercial launch business.

An investigation into the cause of the accident has depleted JAXA's 67 billion yen (US$609 million) budget for this year.

Critics say sending spy satellites into space goes against a long-standing policy of conducting only nonmilitary space missions.

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