Thu March 27, 2003 08:49 PM ET
TANEGASHIMA, Japan (Reuters) - A rocket carrying Japan's first two spy satellites blasted off on Friday in an intelligence-gathering effort that some fear may spur its heavily armed neighbor, North Korea, to test-fire a ballistic missile.
"The satellites were launched as scheduled at 10:27 a.m. (8:27 EST Thursday)," a spokesman for the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) said.
