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 Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
(Aug.
29, 2010)
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