A Japanese H-2A rocket carrying the two spy satellites lifted off from a launch site on the southern island of Tanegashima some 1,000 kilometersmiles) southwest of Tokyo, said officials of the governmental Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Tanegashima Space Center.

"The rocket was launched at 1:33 pm (0433 GMT) as scheduled," said Takayuki Imoto, a spokesman for the satellite launch project, minutes after the launch.

"It may take a few hours to confirm further details, including results of the placement of the satellites into orbit," the spokesman said.

They will join another pair of spy satellites, which were launched in March in a 250 billion yen (2.3 billion dollar) government project to put four spy satellites into full operation this year.

SPACE.WIRE