Japan to launch new solid-fuel rocket in late August

Source:Xinhua Published: 2013-5-21 16:42:03

The Japanese science ministry said Tuesday that the country will launch a new solid-fuel rocket, Epsilon, on Aug. 22 with a small scientific satellite on board.

The three-stage rocket, the successor of the M-5 rocket that retired in 2006, will be launched from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Uchinoura Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, according to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

The new rocket that designed 24 meters in height and 91 tons in weight has the capability to send a 1.2-ton satellite into a low- altitude orbit.

The purpose of the 365-kilogram satellite that will be carried by Epsilon is to observe Venus and Mars, according to the ministry.

The ministry also said the day that Japan will launch the Konotori No. 4, an unmanned cargo transfer vehicle, by an H2-B rocket on Aug. 4 from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima to send supplies to the International Space Station.


Posted in: Asia-Pacific

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