Japan launches optical spy satellite

According to Japan's Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center, the development and manufacture cost of Optical 5 reached 32.5 billion yen (about 272.41 million U.S. dollars), while its launch cost hit 10.6 billion yen (about 88.85 million U.S. dollars). The design life of Optical 5 is five years.

Earlier, Japan launched a radar sensor information-gathering satellite on Feb.1, which is equipped with a radar spy instrument capable of peering through clouds, darkness and camouflage to obtain high-resolution imagery of Earth's surface.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in a statement following the launch on Feb.1 that the government will build a reliable system for gathering information in order to boost Japan's national security and enhance its crisis management capabilities.

Information obtained and images captured by the satellites are subject to a law enacted last year to enable the Japanese government to designate information it deems sensitive as state secrets, according to local media.

Up to three more launches from Tanegashima are planned before the end of 2015, according to media reports.

Japan's H-2B rocket is set for lifting off on Aug.17 with a cargo ship for the International Space Station.

Two further H-2A missions are expected to occur towards the end of the year; the first orbiting the New X-ray Telescope (NeXT), also known a ASTRO-H, an international astronomical observatory and the second carrying Telstar-12V, the first commercial communications satellite to be launched aboard a Japanese rocket.