Japan's H-IIA rocket lifted off Wednesday afternoon on its maiden launch and released a monitoring device into orbit on schedule, putting Japan's ambitions in the space industry back on track following two earlier failures.
The successful launch of the H-IIA was seen as crucial to the future of Japan's space industry, following the failure of two H-II rocket launches, in February 1998 and November 1999.
The H-IIA rocket is an improved version of the trouble-prone H-II.
The 53-meter rocket blasted off from Tanegashima Space Center on the island of Tanegashima in Kagoshima Prefecture at 4 p.m. in fine weather, with auxiliary rockets released shortly afterward, to the relief of officials of the National Space Development Agency of Japan.