Super-speed Internet satellite blasts off in Japan

Video Master Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 1815

Super-speed Internet satellite blasts off in Japan
(CNN) -- Japan launched a rocket Saturday carrying a satellite that will test new technology that promises to deliver "super high-speed Internet" service to homes and businesses around the world.

The rocket carrying the WINDS satellite -- a joint project of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries -- lifted off its pad at 5:55 p.m. (0855 GMT).

If the technology proves successful, subscribers with small dishes will connect to the internet at speeds many times faster than what is now available over residential cable or DSL services.

The Associated Press said the satellite would offer speeds of up to 1.2 gigabytes per second.

The service initially would focus on the Asia-Pacific region close to Japan, a JAXA news release said.

"Among other uses, this will make possible great advances in telemedicine, which will bring high-quality medical treatment to remote areas, and in distance education, connecting students and teachers separated by great distances," JAXA said.

The rocket was launched from Japan's Yoshinobu Launch Complex at the Tanegashima Space Center.

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/02/23/japan.satellite/index.html

Japan launches high-speed communications satellite atop homegrown H-2A rocket
TOKYO (AP) -- Japan's space agency launched an experimental communications satellite Saturday designed to enable super high-speed data transmission at home and in Southeast Asia.

The domestically developed H-2A rocket carrying the satellite, "Kizuna," was launched Saturday evening from the southern island of Tanegashima, according to a live Internet broadcast by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, known as JAXA.

Liftoff was delayed by 90 minutes due to strong winds and because a ship entered restricted waters near the space center. The launch had already been postponed by a week due to a mechanical glitch.

The satellite, equipped with two large multi-beam antennas, separated from the rocket and successfully entered its intended orbit 283 kilometers (175 miles) from Earth, JAXA said in a statement. It will be moved to its stationary orbit in about 20 days.

The agency said with Kizuna it hoped to enable data transmission of up to 1.2 gigabytes per second at a low cost across Japan and in 19 different places in Southeast Asia. JAXA developed Kizuna with another government agency, the National Institute of Information and Communication Technology, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.

About 100 experiments will be conducted through the satellite, including a test broadcast of the next generation of high-definition television.

The total cost of the development, launch and operation of the satellite is estimated at 52 billion yen (US$480 million; €320 million), JAXA spokeswoman Asaka Hagiwara said.

Japan has yet to join the lucrative international satellite market, and Kizuna - which should be in operation for five years - is not intended for commercial use.

Its large H-2A rocket is one of the most advanced and reliable in the world - Saturday's was its eighth straight successful launch - though critics say more cost-cutting efforts are needed to achieve a profitable business.

Japan launched its first satellite in 1970 and has achieved several major scientific coups in space - including launching a probe that collected samples from an asteroid.

Japan is racing to catch up with regional rival China, which has put astronauts in space twice since 2003 and was the third country to send a human into orbit after Russia and the United States. Japan has since announced plans to send its first astronauts into space and set up a base on the moon by 2025.

In February 2007, the agency launched its fourth intelligence-gathering satellite amid concerns over neighboring North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile programs.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_GEN_JAPAN_SATELLITE_ASOL-?SITE=YOMIURI&SECTION=HOSTED_ASIA&TEMPLATE=ap_national.html[/b]

Team XLink Developer Joined: 28 Nov 2007 Posts: 2338

1.2 gigabytes per second... Confused

*Faints*

Kai Regular Joined: 12 May 2007 Posts: 150

pretty sick

Kai Admirer Joined: 16 Feb 2008 Posts: 328

.....OMG

1.2GB per second....that's like impossible Confused

At that rate i could download PC games in seconds, woah.

Team XLink Administrator Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 4061

FOE-RESURRECTI0N wrote:

At that rate i could download PC games in seconds, woah.

Or buy them in mili-seconds!

Kai Admirer Joined: 16 Feb 2008 Posts: 328

Lol, buy them?

Just get them freeee Smile

Team XLink Developer Joined: 28 Nov 2007 Posts: 2338

FOE-RESURRECTI0N wrote:

Lol, buy them?

Just get them freeee Smile

Or you could be legal! Shocked

I know Its amazing! This concept of obeying the law! Shocked

Kai Regular Joined: 22 Aug 2007 Posts: 114

Screw that, Piracy is sooo much better.

Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 3:07 am

-SA-[Krayzie] wrote:

Screw that, Piracy is sooo much better.

1.2 GB OMG screw buying things, ill just download everything without paying

Team XLink Clan Manager Joined: 03 Aug 2006 Posts: 1595

[1up]SgtLegend wrote:

-SA-[Krayzie] wrote:

Screw that, Piracy is sooo much better.

1.2 GB OMG screw buying things, ill just download everything without paying

A true American... Wink

Kai Lover Joined: 14 Aug 2007 Posts: 799

(-TU-)Kovert-xX wrote:

[1up]SgtLegend wrote:

-SA-[Krayzie] wrote:

Screw that, Piracy is sooo much better.

1.2 GB OMG screw buying things, ill just download everything without paying

A true American... Wink

lol, actually Legend is a Aussie but i think it still applys for him

Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 6:20 am

lol i wish i could be american

Kai Spammer Joined: 06 Aug 2006 Posts: 1332

Piracy is a crime, do not accept it!

Kai Beginner Joined: 22 Feb 2008 Posts: 33

[1up]SgtLegend wrote:

lol i wish i could be american

Thats dissapointing that you say that legend.. how could you xD

Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 11:27 am

i was joking man

Kai Beginner Joined: 22 Feb 2008 Posts: 33

i know .. but still -_-

Kai Beginner Joined: 22 Feb 2008 Posts: 33

lol sooooooooo many things.. and its caus were aussy so yeah we have to keep our background and be proud of it Smile

Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 2:37 pm

killing watch your double posts do them on your forum you get in trouble here lol

Kai Beginner Joined: 22 Feb 2008 Posts: 33

lol i didnt double post.... i repiled to some1 else... but that post got deleted -_-

Kai Lover Joined: 21 Nov 2007 Posts: 956

Thread hijacking in progress.......