Japan Launches Super Speed Internet Satellite

Japan today launched a satellite that, if successful, will be able to sling information across Japan and remote parts of Southeast Asia at high speeds and low cost, the AP reports. The satellite, dubbed “Kizuna,” won’t be used commercially–instead, scientists will run about 100 experiments on it, including a test HDTV broadcast. But researchers hope it will help Japan build one of the most advanced networks on the planet, Reuters reports.

The satellite, which will move data at 1.2 million gigabytes per second, was borne on the back of an H-2A rocket, a homegrown Japanese device that is among the world’s best. But critics say the H-2A is too expensive for a commercial satellite operation. From inception to launch, Kizuna has cost roughly $480 million. (More space stories.)