By RYO SASAKI/ Staff Writer
February 11, 2025 at 07:00 JST
The fourth rocket of the H3 model is launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in Minami-Tane, Kagoshima Prefecture, on Nov. 4, 2024. (Masaru Komiyaji)
Japan’s space agency announced plans for seven or more lift-offs annually of its flagship H3 rocket from the Kagoshima complex in Kyushu.
The science ministry and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are now busy with equipment upgrades at the site.
The government set aside 1.88 billion yen ($12 million) in its draft budget for fiscal 2025 that begins in April and its supplementary budget for fiscal 2024 to cover related expenses.
Officials said the ministry is hoping Japan will get more orders for satellite launches using H3 rockets.
But as things stand, six H3 lift-offs a year is the best that Japan can do because of equipment limitations at the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture.
The capacity of liquid oxygen storage tanks at the site is only sufficient for a single launch, so lift-offs at shorter intervals are not possible.
As part of the upgrade plan, officials are hoping to increase the number of liquid oxygen storage tanks from the current three to four.
The number of assembly buildings for satellites sent aloft will also be increased from the current two to three to allow for concurrent work on three rockets.
An existing assembly building for H-2A rockets will be converted and adapted for the H3 model. The next launch of the H-2A model will be the 50th and the last before the series is decommissioned.
Instruments that X-ray rocket piping interiors will be introduced at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Tobishima plant in Aichi Prefecture to shorten the time requirement for making a rocket.
JAXA is planning to finish the upgrades no later than the first half of fiscal 2027.
The space agency has its sights set on rocket launches at one-month intervals with initial plans for at least seven lift-offs a year.
“Shorter launch intervals will allow lift-offs to be scheduled more flexibly, which will give us more advantage in getting orders,” said an official with the science ministry’s Space Development and Utilization Division.
“That will be essential for strengthening our international competitiveness,” the official added.
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