JAXA Successfully Launched Military Communication Satellite Kirameki 3

The launch of the H3 rocket carrying the Kirameki 3 satellite (photo: dock. JAXA)

JAKARTA The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched Kiranemki 3 or DSN-3 on Monday, November 4 at 13:45 WIB. This military communication satellite took off from the Tageshima Space Center.

The Kirameki 3 flight went smoothly. About 29 minutes after launch, this satellite was successfully deployed from orbit. Quoting from Space, JAXA is targeting a further position, namely a geostationary orbit (GEO) with an altitude of 35,786 km from Earth.

Once on GEO, the satellite will be operated by DSN Corporation and will be used for Japanese military purposes. To accelerate the course of communication, Kirameki 3 will communicate in the X band which is part of the electromagnetic spectrum.

In placing Kirameki 3 in orbit, JAXA uses the latest H3 rocket which is the successor to H-2A. This second-generation rocket has been operating for more than two decades and must retire so that H3 will replace its operations in the future.

This two-stage rocket was developed with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Initially, the rocket was targeted to launch officially in 2020, but its development was running slowly so that H3 just debuted in March last year.

H3's first launch was also not going well. The Sophisticated Mainland Observation-3 (DAICHI-3) satellite failed to be deployed and disappeared in orbit. At the second launch, the new H3 flight went well even though the mass brought in weighed 2,600 kilograms.

The H3 rocket re-launched its third mission last June to deliver the latest generation from DAICHI. The launch of the rocket and the deployment of the payload went well so that JAXA returned to using its rocket to deliver the satellites needed by the military.