SCI-TECH

Japan's military launches first communications satellite

The Associated Press Published Tuesday, January 24, 2017 4:54AM EST

Japan communications satellite Kirameki-2

Japan's H-2A rocket carrying Defense Ministry's first communications satellite Kirameki-2 goes up goes up after its launch from the Tanegashima Space Center in Minamitane on Tanegashima Island, southern Japan, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017. (Yu Nakajima/Kyodo News via AP)

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TOKYO -- Japan's Defence Ministry has launched its first communications satellite.

The Kirameki-2 satellite lifted off Tuesday on board an H-2A rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan.

The ministry says it is the first of three satellites that will replace three civilian ones currently used by Japan's military. The new satellites will allow military units to communicate on a high-speed and high-capacity network.

The Kirameki-1 was supposed to be launched in July 2016, but was damaged during transport to a launch pad in French Guiana. It is undergoing repair and scheduled for launch between March and September 2018.