Japan plans to launch the third one of a set of four spy satellites in mid September, making one step further to build a global information gathering system, Kyodo News reported on Thursday.

The satellite, a half of the second pair, is an optical one, and will be launched on Sept. 10 by an H-2A rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan's Kagoshima Prefecture, government officials were quoted as saying.

If the launch turns to be a success, Japan will send a radar satellite, which is the remaining half of the second pair, in early 2007 as scheduled.

Japan launched the first pair of satellites successfully in March 2003, but failed the launch of a second pair due to rocket problems later that year.

The new pair of satellites is designed to work with the first set to take pictures on any point of the earth surface at least once a day.

Source: Xinhua