spacetoday.net: Japan delays ALOS launch

Posted: Wed, Jan 18, 2006, 8:13 AM ET (1313 GMT)
H-2A launch on flight 4 (NASDA)

The launch of a Japanese Earth sciences satellite has been delayed because of a problem with its launch vehicle, the Japanese space agency JAXA announced Wednesday. An H-2A was scheduled to launch the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) from the Tanegashima Space Center on Thursday, but officials said that a telemetry transmitter on the rocket malfunctioned during pre-launch checks and will have to be replaced. JAXA gave no new launch date for the mission, although media reports indicated that the launch would be pushed back to at least Saturday. ALOS carries a suite of instruments including a camera, radiometer, and synthetic aperture radar to collect data for use in mapping as well as disaster monitoring.