Japan successfully launches H3 Rocket carrying Michibiki satellite

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, successfully launched an H3 rocket carrying the Michibiki No. 7 positioning satellite from its Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, at 4:23 a.m. Tuesday.

The satellite reached its planned orbit about 30 minutes later.

The No. 9 rocket was the first H3 unit carrying a practical-use satellite since a launch failure last December. Tuesday's success means that seven out of the nine H3 units have been successfully launched.

"We made improvements with a determination not to fail again and were able to conduct a launch with enhanced reliability. As a result, we've achieved a good outcome," Makoto Arita, JAXA's H3 project manager, told a press conference after the launch.

The Michibiki is Japan's version of GPS, complementing the U.S. GPS satellite network and enabling positioning with a precision of up to several centimeters. The Michibiki No. 1 satellite was launched in 2010.

Earlier, it was reported that Uzbekistan launched its first remote sensing satellite.