With the successful launch of the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 4 on December 14, 2002, Japan's rocket technology has taken a major step forward in establishing its reliability. Japan's main space carrier, which blasted off from the National Space Development Agency's Tanegashima Space Center in Kyushu, carried the largest satellite ever launched by a Japanese rocket in addition to three smaller satellites. The rocket succeeded in placing all four satellites in their correct orbits. With the fourth consecutive launch of the H-IIA since the first vehicle was tested in August 2001, NASDA felt confident enough to proclaim that "the rocket carried out all of its missions nearly flawlessly." These successful missions bode well for Japan's future entry into the global commercial satellite market.

All Four Payloads Delivered
NASDA developed the H-IIA as the successor to the H-II rocket, which after having five consecutive successful launches was scrapped following failed flights in 1998 and 1999. In addition to carrying the three smaller satellites, the H-IIA put the ADEOS-II, an environmental satellite, into a polar orbit 800 kilometers (500 miles) above the Earth. Polar orbit is a course that takes a satellite over the Earth's North and South Poles. This orbit, comparatively difficult to achieve, allows the satellite to observe the entire surface of the Earth as the planet rotates while it makes its way around the poles.

The ADEOS-II, or Advanced Earth Observing Satellite 2, weighs in at 3,500 kilograms (7,700 pounds). Its purpose is to observe complex changes in the global environment, such as global warming and the El Niño phenomenon. It completes one orbit around the Earth every 100 minutes, and can observe the entire surface of the planet within a period of just four days. It carries five sensors developed by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the French Aeronautics and Space Research Center, and it is the cornerstone of an international project to monitor the Earth. The satellite was christened Midori II after it was placed in orbit.

A large rocket, the H-IIA made use of its surplus carrying capacity by carrying a piggyback payload consisting of three smaller satellites. The first was FedSat, a scientific satellite belonging to the Cooperative Research Centre for Satellite Systems, located in Australia. The second was WEOS (whale ecology observation satellite), a satellite put together by the Chiba Institute of Technology and affectionately dubbed "Kanta-kun." The third was NASDA's experimental satellite, Micro-LabSat.

WEOS seeks to do what was previously believed to be impossible: It aims to track whales by picking up signals from transmitters implanted in them and ascertain their migratory routes. NASDA selected this satellite in 1997 from among proposals received in a public application process. On the day of the launch, a large monitor was placed in a classroom at the Chiba Institute of Technology, where approximately 300 students and alumni gathered to watch a live feed of the H-IIA carrying their school's satellite into space. As the rocket lifted off, the group erupted in cheers and applause.

Building a Track Record
NASDA has expressed confidence in the future of the H-IIA rocket, indicating that it expects success to continue with the fifth launch vehicle and beyond. Important satellites are on the H-IIA's waiting list. In February 2003, the rocket is scheduled to carry Japan's first two information-gathering satellites into orbit. Launch vehicles six and seven will take two more information-gathering satellites and the Multi-Functional Transport Satellite, which will replace the aging weather satellite Himawari-5. The system for launching the rockets will also change greatly: Manufacture of the H-IIA and the job of taking orders for launches will be turned over to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in fiscal 2005 (April 2005-March 2006) under a plan for privatization.

Public or private sector, building a record of reliability is something that must be done if Japan is to become a presence in the global satellite business. Commenting on the successful launch of H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 4, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology Atsuko Toyama stated, "I am hopeful that continued successful launches beginning with H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 5 will establish its dependability and ensure its competitiveness internationally."