Japan successfully launches next-gen H3 rocket

• Japan successfully launched its new H3 flagship rocket on February 17.

• The H3 rocket blasted off from a launch pad at the Tanegashima Space Centre.

• The rocket successfully achieved the planned trajectory and released the two satellites.

• The launch marks a second straight win for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) after its lunar lander, SLIM, achieved a ‘pinpoint’ touchdown in January and made Japan only the fifth country to put a spacecraft on the Moon.

• The launch was closely watched as a test for Japan’s space development after H3 failed in its debut flight in March 2023. 

• In its debut flight, the rocket had to be destroyed along with its payload, the advanced land observation satellite, or ALOS-3, triggering disappointment and uncertainty about Japan’s space exploration plans.

• The ground control destroyed the rocket 14 minutes after liftoff when the second-stage engine failed to ignite. 

• Another failed flight would have seen Japan face the prospect of losing independent access to space.

• JAXA and its main contractor Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have been developing H3 as a successor to its current mainstay, H-IIA, which is set to retire after two more flights.

• H3 is designed to carry larger payloads than H-IIA at much lower costs of about $330 million, to be globally competitive.

• The Japanese government plans to launch about 20 satellites and probes with H3 rockets by 2030 for domestic use. 

• The H3 is scheduled to deliver a lunar explorer for the joint Japan-India LUPEX project in 2025 as well as cargo spacecraft for the US-led Artemis moon exploration program in the future.

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