Japan to launch giant satellite for mobile phones
By AFP

Tokyo - Japan is set to launch one of the world's largest geostationary satellites in a bid to improve mobile telephone reception in remote areas, the country's space agency said.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency plans the launch between 3:32 pm and 3:44 pm (0632 and 0644 GMT). It was postponed Saturday due to cloudy weather at the launch site at Tanegashima in southern Japan.

The 5.8-ton, 40-meter (131-foot) long experimental satellite, known as Kiku Number 8, has some of the world's longest antennas, an agency statement said.

"This function is expected to be very useful in our daily lives, for example in some mountainous areas and at sea where no ground stations are available," the statement said.

The satellite is also aimed at helping communication between emergency vehicles and rescue workers after natural disasters.

The launch on an H-2A rocket will let the space agency test the technology before potentially marketing it commercially.

Japan's space program has gradually been stepping up activity. It had suspended launches for more than a year after an embarrassing failure in November 2003 when it had to destroy a rocket 10 minutes after lift-off when a rocket booster failed to separate.

Japan hopes to send an astronaut to the moon by around 2020 and construct a manned lunar base by 2030.-- AFP

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