An M5 rocket successfully put Japan's first infrared ray satellite into orbit on Wednesday morning, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said.

The No. 8 version of the Japanese-developed M5 rocket, carrying with it the infrared ray astronomical satellite Astro-F, lifted off from the Uchinoura Space Center in Kimotsuki, Kagoshima Prefecture in southwestern Japan at 6:28 a.m., one day later than the original schedule because of unexpected rainfall.

The 1.9-meter-wide and 3.7-meter-tall satellite, weighed about 950 kilograms at the time of the launch, is equipped with a 70- centimeter telescope and can capture infrared rays emitted by low temperature stars and new galaxies, Kyodo News reported.

Japanese scientists hope that the satellite, with a mission to probe the Milky Way and astronomical phenomena, will detect several million new astronomical objects and transmit back to the earth enough information for scientists to build a database of the whole universe.

Source: Xinhua