Japan placed two satellites into separate orbits with a single rocket on Saturday morning, achieving a feat it hopes will lead to cheaper launches in the future.
The H-IIA rocket took off from Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture at 10:26 a.m., carrying a Shikisai climate research satellite and a low-altitude test satellite named Tsubame. The satellites will orbit at altitudes of 800 km and under 300 km, respectively.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), working in conjunction with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., hopes the success will allow it to orbit multiple satellites using one rocket in the future. Until now, each JAXA satellite had been launched individually.