Japanese Epsilon-3 with ASNARO-2, 17 January

Japan’s experimental radar imaging satellite ASNARO-2 launched Thursday aboard the third flight of the Epsilon rocket. Liftoff – from the Uchinoura Space Centre – occurred in a twenty-four-minute, two-second window opening at 06:06:11 local time (21:06 UTC on Wednesday).

ASNARO-2 is a Japanese SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) Earth imaging mission under development by the NEC Corporation and USEF (Institute for Unmanned Space Experiment Free Flyer). ASNARO-2 is a follow-up minisatellite mission of ASNARO. Like its predecessor, the project is funded by NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization), a Department of METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) of the Government of Japan.