The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency on Sept. 14 launched the Epsilon, Japan's first new rocket in 12 years, putting the SPRINT-A planet-observation telescope into orbit some 1,000 km above the Earth. The telescope uses extreme ultraviolet rays to observe the atmosphere of planets.

The successful rocket launch represents the culmination of Japan's solid-fuel rocket technology, which dates back to the tiny "pencil" rocket in the 1950s developed by the late Dr. Hideo Itokawa and his team. But JAXA and Japan's rocket industry have a long way to go to make the Epsilon rocket competitive enough in the international market of commercial satellite launches.

In developing the Epsilon rocket, the JAXA team aimed at smaller size, lower costs and higher capabilities.