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Launch of the Japanese H-2A rocket, aboard a "Ibuki-2" green gas observation satellite and KhalifaSat, satellite of the United Arab Emirates, Tanegashima, South Japan, Monday October 29th 2018. The Japanese rocket carrying locally the first United Arab Emirates -made satellite has successfully taken off from a space center in southern Japan. (Nozomi Endo / Kyodo News via AP) (Press release)
TOKYO – A Japanese rocket successfully put into orbit the first satellite manufactured locally by the United Arab Emirates from a space center in southern Japan.
The KhalifaSat Earth Observation satellite was launched by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, from the Tanegashima Space Center.
The H-2A rocket will also carry an Ibuki-2 greenhouse gas observation satellite for Japan.
Both KhalifaSat and Ibuki-2 have since been released separately in a targeted orbit, said MHI Launch Services.
This launch marks a breakthrough in the nascent space program of the Gulf country.
The country plans to send its first two astronauts to the International Space Station in 2019. The United Arab Emirates also wants to send a probe on their way to Mars by 2020 and build a scientific city there by 2117.
Japan also wants to expand its commercial satellite launch services by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and make them competitive globally.
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