Kizuna To Test Sat-Based High-Speed Internet

Aero-News readers in Asia may soon find their Internet connections are quite a bit speedier than before, thanks to an experimental satellite launched Saturday.

The Associated Press reports the "Kizuna" satellite, designed to enable super high-speed data transmissions over Southeast Asia, lifted off atop an H-2A rocket Saturday evening from the southern island of Tanegashima. The satellite successfully entered orbit a short time later.

Sporting two large multi-beam antennas, Kizuna is intended to enable transmission rates of up to 1.2 gigabytes per second across Japan, and 19 other areas throughout the region not served by terrestrial high-speed access points. The satellite was developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, in cooperation with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

Kizuna won't be used for commercial purposes -- but if successful, the technology would likely find its way onto a commercial platform sometime in the future.

Perhaps more importantly, the launch marked the eighth straight successful firing of the H-2A, a rocket Japan hopes to put into service in the commercial launch services arena.

The booster may also be used for a manned spaceflight, as Japan races to catch up with its main rival in the region, China.

FMI: www.jaxa.jp/index_e.html