Japan's first large rocket. The N-1, the country's first liquid-fuel N rocket, was launched on 9 September 1975 measuring 32.6 m in length, with a circumference of 2.4 m, and weighing 81 tonnes. It had first and third stages developed by imported US technology, and the second stage was Japanese made. In 1977 the N rocket carried Japan's first geostationary satellite into orbit. The first N-2 rocket was launched on 11 February 1981 and is capable of carrying a 35-kg satellite into orbit.