Satellite glitch makes Japan worried about breakdown of intelligence network?

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2010-8-31 13:56
Of four intelligence-gathering satellites currently in orbit to observe North Korea, the lone radar orbiter impervious to darkness and cloudy weather has broken down.
The Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center said it detected a glitch in the satellite's radar system Monday and began remote operations to restart the system. However, an official of the center said the outlook for recovery was "extremely grim."
The government plans to launch its next radar reconnaissance satellite in fiscal 2011.
The satellite, radar satellite No. 2, was launched in February 2007. The center attributed the malfunction to battery trouble. The satellite was designed to function for five years and should have operated until 2012.
The government started the satellite intelligence-gathering program after North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japanese territory in 1998. A set of four satellites--two radar orbiters and two optical orbiters--can gather imagery of any place in the world within any 24-hour period while in their polar orbit at an altitude of 400-600 kilometers.
This was what the government had in mind when it originally planned to launch four intelligence-gathering satellites in fiscal 2003. But two spy satellites were destroyed during a failed launch aboard an H-2A rocket in November 2003.
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An H-2A rocket carrying a spy satellite lifts off from a space center on the southern island of Tanegashima, on Saturday Nov. 28, 2009.
Currently, there are three optical intelligence-gathering satellites, one of which has already passed its life expectancy, and one radar craft in orbit.
Since the only radar craft has stopped functioning, the government must wait until after fiscal 2012 before a complete set of reconnaissance satellites--two optical and two radar--are in operation.
The radar satellite is more expensive and technologically sophisticated than the optical orbiters. The radar No. 1 satellite, which was launched in 2003, stopped operating in 2007 because of a battery problem, one year short of its life expectancy.
The government uses imagery information from U.S. commercial satellites, but the United States limits sales of imagery data because of concerns about military security.
Intelligence gathering satellites are a precious source of information for Japan and "serve as a deterrent by monitoring any kind of activity" one high-ranking Defense Ministry official said. (From Daily Yomiuri)
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Analysis ponts out the malfunction of the lone radar spy satellite could cloud Japan's security as the relationship between Tokyo and Washington has become strained over the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture.
Besides, the failure of the orbiter is expected to badly affect intelligence-gathering activities for Japan at a time when North Korea has tested nuclear weapons and China has built up its military.
Will the malfunction of Japan's spy satellite make Japan worried about the possible breakdown of its space intelligence network?

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