Japan has recently launched a satellite in order to have its own geolocation system. This effort will boost the accuracy of the smartphone maps and the car navigation system.
On Thursday morning Japan launched a new H-IIA rocket that carried the "Michibiki" No.2 satellite to create its own geolocation system. The satellite was perfectly released into orbit. The rocket was blasted from the Tanegashima space center that is situated in the southern Japan, Phys.org reported. A Cabinet Office spokeswoman later confirmed the successful launch of the rocket and the satellite.
At first the geolocation systems through the satellite were designed to facilitate the U.S. military, but, currently, they power a lot of civilian applications. The new system also must be very useful to avail the smooth internet browsing on the mobile phones, car navigation, and many other facilities. Japan currently depends on the GPS operated by the U.S. But, this new initiative is part of the important plan to build and develop a domestic version to get a strong geolocation system.
Currently, this broader plan of the domestic version includes the development of four satellites that can focus on Japan and the wider region. It was 2010 when the first satellite was placed into the orbit. The placement of the third and the fourth satellites will be done by March 2018 in order to begin the service.
According to the ZME Science, GPS was first invented in the U.S. in 1973 and it works very well. Now Japan wants something new and for this, the country launched a rocket that carried the "Michibiki" No.2 satellite. The first Michibiki satellite was launched in 2010. When all the four satellites will be placed in the space, then the positioning system will be improved to avail the accurate results.
GPS is used in Japan hugely, and so the development of the supplementary satellites bears great importance in this arena. Tall buildings and mountainous terrain may hamper the signals in Japan. Now, these supplementary satellites play a significant role in establishing proper signals in those areas.
The new "Michibiki" No.2 satellite must be able to cover the Asia-Oceania area. The satellite can also be very useful for the civilian use in Japan. Michibiki is a Japanese word that means guidance.
Yosuke Tsuruho, the state minister who is in charge of the space policy, utters significantly about this initiative. The minister says that the establishment of the four-satellite network can be very helpful in construction, agriculture and many other important fields. The interesting fact is Japan has the aim to release at least seven satellites into orbit by 2023.
