Japan Launches Super High Speed Internet Satellite

By Averad on February 24th, 2008

The “KIZUNA”, a experimental super high-speed data communications satellite, has been successfully placed in orbit by Japan.

A H-2A rocket carrying the satellite was launched from the Tanegashima Space Center at 17:55 (0855 GMT) on February 24th, 2008 with no reported glitches.

The communications satellite separated from the rocket approximately 35 minutes after the launch and was maneuvered into orbit.

The $342 million dollar satellite will allow super high speed data communications of up to 1.2 Gbps, which would make it the fastest in the world.

That rate would be about 150 times that of the average high-speed ADSL connection rate of about 8 Mbps, or 12 times the speed of a fiber optic communication delivery to a person’s home.

The launch was delayed by one week after the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said it had discovered a problem with the gas jet thruster for its launch rocket.

The “Kizuna,” which translates to “bond” in Japanese, is expected to begin transmitting and receiving data with terrestrial infrastructures in July after completing preparations and confirming the satellite’s safety.

With a small antenna you can receive data at up to 155Mbps and transmit data at up to 6 Mbps.

With a larger antenna mainly for organizations and companies super high speed data communications of up to 1.2 Gbps will be available.

Aiming for a society where anybody can get information anytime, anywhere the KIZUNA will serve 4 major functions over its life of five years.

Even when a ground-based network is severed by a disaster in Japan or in other Asian countries, broadband network communications can still be secured by the KIZUNA using an additional small antenna. By installing a small antenna high-resolution images can be securely sent to a disaster countermeasures office via the KIZUNA. Therefore, the satellite is expected to function as a reliable pipeline between a disaster stricken area and a countermeasures office.

The Internet’s infrastructure is well-established in urban areas in Japan. However, a similar Internet environment is not available in many mountainous regions and remote islands in Japan and in other Asian countries. The KIZUNA can provide a broadband Internet environment and super-high speed communications that are at a level with those in city areas to regions where such communication methods are currently out of reach.

The satellite-based Internet is also expected to become a useful tool in the educational field. Using conventional satellite communications, a small time lag often exists between conversations because communications are conveyed via relay stations. With the KIZUNA, conversation will be smoothly exchanged, thus, when terminals in various schools in Japan or even in Asian countries are directly connected, students can communicate as if they are all in the same classroom.

By connecting with urban areas via the KIZUNA, residents who live in mountainous regions and remote islands where no major hospital is available can receive the same level of medical treatment and physical checkups as those who live in cities. The KIZUNA will enable remote diagnosis, as the conditions of a patient can be transmitted by high-definition images to a specialist in an urban hospital, who can then diagnose the problem and advise a local doctor in a rural area to provide appropriate treatment.

Sources: JAXA (English KIZUNA Launch Site)