Japanese Rocket Lifts Off From Island

After repeated delays, a Japanese H-2A rocket lifted off from its launchpad Tuesday carrying a four-ton observation satellite.

The launch of the Japanese-developed H-2A from the remote island of Tanegashima in southern Japan had to be rescheduled three times because of trouble with sensing equipment and bad weather.

But on Tuesday the black-and-orange rocket blasted off into a clear sky, carrying the Advanced Land Observation Satellite. The probe which has three earth sensors that can obtain terrain data for maps and make all-weather observations of the Asia-Pacific region.

Success will clear the way for the launching of two spy satellites by March 2007 to monitor North Korea and other trouble spots.

That program, approved after North Korea launched a missile over Japan's main island in 1998, began with the liftoff of two spy satellites in March 2003. Tokyo put aside $2 billion for the project, prompting protests from North Korea that Tokyo was triggering a regional arms race.