Satellite Successfully Placed in Orbit
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From Times Wire Reports
Fifteen months after a launch ended in a fireball, a Japanese rocket blasted off successfully and placed a satellite into orbit.
Domestically designed and built, the 174-foot H-2A rocket is the centerpiece of Japan’s space program, and Saturday’s liftoff from the remote island of Tanega Shima was a breakthrough.
In November 2003, controllers had to detonate a rocket and its payload of two spy satellites after a booster failed to detach.
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