On Saturday, Japan’s space agency celebrated the triumphant launch of its latest flagship rocket, marking the third attempt for the H3 after facing years of delays and two prior unsuccessful tries. JAXA, the space agency, described the H3 rocket as flexible and cost-effective. An official from JAXA informed AFP that the rocket was successfully placed into orbit, following its launch from the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan at 9:22 am (0022 GMT).
The successful flight of H3 marked an essential step for JAXA’s plans to become a global player in commercial space. The rocket is designed to carry larger payloads than JAXA’s current mainstay, the H-2A, and operate at lower costs to compete with established players like SpaceX.
Developed jointly by JAXA and its primary contractor, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the H3 is the successor to the H-IIA launch system, which debuted in 2001. The rocket can be configured to be an all-rounder, capable of launching satellites into Earth orbit, serving as a cargo vehicle for space stations, and even making it to the Moon, a capability that could make it a formidable competitor in the rapidly expanding commercial space market.
The H3’s maiden launch in March last year failed after technical problems caused the rocket’s second stage to fail to ignite, resulting in a destruct command being issued just 15 minutes after liftoff. JAXA was pressured to demonstrate that the rocket was reliable enough for future missions.
Cheers and applause broke out in JAXA’s control room after the live stream confirmed that the engines had successfully burned and the rocket made it into orbit. The rocket carried two microsatellites, one of which is expected to contribute to disaster prevention by taking pictures and movies. The other, equipped with a sensor to detect infrared rays, will be used to help track the operation conditions of factories on the ground. JAXA’s livestream also confirmed the separation of the microsatellites.
JAXA will now be able to begin putting the H3 through its paces in preparation for its first operational mission later this year, which will likely be the deployment of the communications satellite KSAT. JAXA will then test out the ability of the rocket to deliver larger satellites to higher altitudes. This capability could lead to deploying extensive communications and remote sensing satellites for customers outside of Japan.
