Kagoshima: The 50th H-2A rocket carrying the GOSAT-GW greenhouse gas and water cycle observation satellite, nicknamed Ibuki GW, was launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture in the early hours of Sunday.

According to Philippines News Agency, the 50th unit of the H-2A rocket lifted off at 1:33 a.m. and successfully placed the GOSAT-GW satellite into the planned orbit. This two-stage, liquid-fuel rocket was initially developed by the predecessor of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, known as JAXA, with its first unit launched in 2001.

The production and launch operations for the H-2A series were handed over to Mitsubishi Heavy from the 13th unit launched in 2007. The H-2A series experienced only one launch failure, which occurred with the sixth unit in 2003.