Japan launches black hole probe

updated 2:01 a.m. ET July 10, 2005

Japan launched a rocket Sunday carrying a telescope-laden satellite to study black holes and galaxies, the country’s space agency said.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, staged a live Web telecast of the M-5 rocket being shot into space from Uchinoura, 620 miles southwest of Tokyo. It was the first liftoff since the February launch of Japan’s H-2A rocket.

Aboard the rocket was a satellite equipped with five X-ray telescopes to study the structure and movement of black holes and galaxies, according to JAXA.

The H-2A’s liftoff in February was the space agency’s first success after an accident in November 2003, when a rocket carrying two spy satellites malfunctioned and was destroyed in mid-flight. The M-5 rocket was originally set for launch earlier this year but was delayed because JAXA made a priority of the H-2A launch.

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