It is intended to generate 80kN of thrust and is designed to place the Earth observation satellite into its final orbit just a few hundred kilometres above the planet.

BBC: South Korea halts rocket launch

Information about Arctic Ice combining satellite data and national observation efforts is reported in near real time through this system.

UNESCO: EDUCATION

The country has plans for better satellite communications, broadcasting facilities, weather forecasting and Earth observation missions all of which will have a dual civilian and military role, but none of which need be manned.

ECONOMIST: China in space

But many commentators expect its instruments to start to fail in the harsh space environment several years before its successor, a satellite called JPSS-1, can be launched to take over observation duties.

BBC: Weather satellites and the gathering storm

The satellite is also expected to drop off two secondary "passengers" - an Earth observation spacecraft for Vietnam and a "nanosatellite" built by students in Estonia.

BBC: Bad weather postpones Europe's Vega rocket launch

While not quite as "nano" as the SIM card-sized satellites that launched with the Shuttle Endeavor, the smaller-than-a-breadbox ExoPlanetSat is still pretty tiny by satellite standards, yet it packs all the necessary optics and technology required for what's known as transit observation -- that is, monitoring a star for decreases in brightness, which could indicate a planet passing in front of it.

ENGADGET: ExoPlanetSat nanosatellite to begin search for alien worlds next year

The USNS Observation Island, a ship that uses telemetry to monitor objects in space, will collect information on the satellite both before and after the missile launch.

CNN: Attempt to shoot down spy satellite to cost up to $60 million