Japan Launches Rocket Epsilon After 12 Years

Japan launched its first new rocket named Epsilon after a span of 12 years, Saturday.

The launch took place from Uchinoura Space Center in Kimotsuki town at 1:00 a.m. EDT (05:00GMT)  The three-stage rocket is equipped with a telescope for observing and analyzing the solar system from space, according to Reuters.

The Epsilon is hyped as a low-budget alternative to Japan's existing H2A rocket. 

The Epsilon faced two setbacks in the previous month. A computer malfunction derailed the launch of this rocket on August 27 just 19 seconds prior to the countdown.

 The rocket is equipped with a computer system and has a smaller size, which can be assembled quickly allowing the operators to save costs in terms of equipment and human resources.

The usual desktop computers were utilized to carry out the launch bringing down the costs.

With the successful launch of Epsilon, Japan reached a step nearer to its aim of cashing in on the international satellite launch industry. This is the second victorious step Japan took in the world of astronomy after launching the first talking humanoid Kirobo on August 4, 2013 and becoming the first country to send a talking robot to space.

Thirty years ago the commercial launch business was dominated by the U.S. companies but they slowly lost dominance and most of their business went to the France-based Arianespace, which is a public-private European partnership. The enterprise reported a revenue of 1.3 billion euros in the year 2012.

SpaceX, a California-based Space Exploration Technologies recently entered the market and jostled the market up a little.

Russia also markets a variety of rockets for space launches. Its workhorse Soyuz spaceships have been the only vehicles delivering crews to the ISS since the  U.S. Space Shuttle fleet retired from service in 2011. Russia is also said to sell a range of rockets for space launches. India and China also offer launch services.