An M-5 rocket lifted off from the Uchinoura Space Center in Kimotsuki, Kagoshima Prefecture, early Wednesday and successfully put into orbit an Astro-F infrared wavelength astronomical satellite, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said.
The No. 8 version of the domestically produced M-5 separated from the satellite after putting it in its scheduled orbit at an altitude of about 300 km.
Final separation came nine minutes after the 6:28 a.m. liftoff.
JAXA subsequently named the satellite Akari.
The launch was a day behind schedule because of bad weather. It was the sixth launch of an M-5 and the first since July.
H-IIA rockets carried out two successful launches in January and February. Wednesday's M-5 liftoff marked the third rocket launch in about a month, an unprecedented pace for Japan.
In addition to the Akari, the M-5 carried a tiny satellite made by students at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, and experimental equipment for a solar sail being developed by JAXA.
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