The device must receive and transmit signals from an automatic identification system to track the movement of ships and monitor activities at sea
TOKYO, November 9th. /tass/. Japan on Tuesday launched an Epsilon-5 launch vehicle with nine satellites, including the Vietnamese NanoDragon spacecraft. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is broadcasting the launch live.
Initially, the launch from the Uchinoura cosmodrome in Kagoshima Prefecture was supposed to take place on October 1, but it was postponed twice due to technical problems with radar equipment and weather conditions.
NanoDragon, which weighs 3.8 kg, was developed, assembled and tested by specialists of the National Space Center at the Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology. It must receive and transmit signals from an automatic identification system to track the movement of ships and monitor activities at sea.
In addition to it, Epsilon-5 will launch eight more Japanese small satellites into orbit, including those developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
The solid-fuel three-stage rocket of the Epsilon series was developed by JAXA in cooperation with the Japanese aircraft corporation IHI. Japan has been using it since 2013 to launch small satellites.
