spacetoday.net: Japan launches GPS augmentation spacecraft

Posted: Sun, Sep 12, 2010, 2:23 PM ET (1823 GMT)
H-2A launch of Michibiki (MHI)

An H-2A rocket successfully launched on Saturday the first in a planned series of spacecraft to augment GPS navigation signals over Japan. The H-2A rocket lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan at 7:17 am EDT (1117 GMT, 8:17 pm local time) on Saturday and placed the first Quasi-Zenith Satellite, called Michibiki, into a transfer orbit 28 minutes later. The 4,000-kilogram satellite will operate from an inclined near-geosynchonous orbit that will appear to trace out a lopsided figure-eight on the sky as seen from the ground. The unusual orbit will allow the spacecraft to appear at higher elevations in the sky from Japan than a conventional geosynchronous satellite. Michibiki is the first in a planned series of spacecraft that will broadcast signals intended to improve the accuracy of the GPS system for users in Japan.