TOKYO - After repeated delays, a Japanese H-2A rocket lifted off from its launchpad Tuesday carrying a four-ton observation satellite.

The launch of the Japanese-developed H-2A from the remote island of Tanegashima in southern Japan had to be rescheduled three times because of trouble with sensing equipment and bad weather.

But on Tuesday the black-and-orange rocket blasted off into a clear sky, carrying the Advanced Land Observation Satellite. The probe which has three earth sensors that can obtain terrain data for maps and make all-weather observations of the Asia-Pacific region.

Success will clear the way for the launching of two spy satellites by March 2007 to monitor North Korea and other trouble spots.