On the 29th of November at 07:33 UTC, Japanese Data Relay Satellite-1, also known as JDRS-1, was launched from the Tanegashima Space Center on an H-IIA 202 rocket. JDRS-1 is a data relay satellite for both military and civilian users. It will primarily provide downlink for the Japanese government’s IGS fleet of radar and optical reconnaissance satellites. The civil payload is a laser communications device developed by JAXA, the Japanese civil space agency. JDRS-1 was launched into a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) orbit by the rocket. It will raise itself the rest of the way into geostationary orbit (GEO) over the course of a few weeks.

More Information

NASA Spaceflight article 

SpaceFlight Now article

JRDS-1 info sheet (Gunter’s Space Page)