An M-5 rocket lifted off from the Uchinoura Space Center in Kimotsuki, Kagoshima Prefecture, early Wednesday and successfully put into orbit an Astro-F infrared wavelength astronomical satellite, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said.

The No. 8 version of the domestically produced M-5 separated from the satellite after putting it in its scheduled orbit at an altitude of about 300 km.

Final separation came nine minutes after the 6:28 a.m. liftoff.

JAXA subsequently named the satellite Akari.

The launch was a day behind schedule because of bad weather. It was the sixth launch of an M-5 and the first since July.

H-IIA rockets carried out two successful launches in January and February. Wednesday's M-5 liftoff marked the third rocket launch in about a month, an unprecedented pace for Japan.

In addition to the Akari, the M-5 carried a tiny satellite made by students at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, and experimental equipment for a solar sail being developed by JAXA.