By SHOKO TAMAKI/ Staff Writer
February 17, 2024 at 14:02 JST
Japan’s space agency announced that the launch of its new H-3 flagship rocket went off without a hitch Feb. 17.
The H-3 Launch Vehicle No. 2 lifted off at 9:22 a.m. from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture.
It was carrying two satellites, as well as a dummy to confirm the rocket’s capabilities, for release when the H-3 reached its intended orbit at an altitude of 675 kilometers.
The second-stage engine, which malfunctioned in the unsuccessful launch last March, ignited as planned.
The H-3 is to replace the flagship H-2A rocket, for which only two more launches are planned.
The H-3 was developed jointly by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.
JAXA, keen to compete in the international launch business, aimed to design a rocket with a high capability but at low cost. The goal was to keep the cost for a single launch to around 5 billion yen ($33.3 million), or about half that of the H-2A.
Having cleared a major hurdle, the H-3 rocket has a heavy schedule lined up, with plans for its use in JAXA’s Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) and sending resupplies to the International Space Station on the new HTV-X cargo spacecraft.
The H-3 Launch Vehicle No. 2 was originally scheduled for a Feb. 15 launch, but weather conditions pushed back the launch by two days.
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The H-3 Launch Vehicle No. 2 soars from the launchpad at the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on Feb. 17. (Soichiro Yamamoto)
