Japan successfully launched next-gen H3 rocket after two failed attempts
JAXA hopes that the H3's lower costs and greater payload capacity will attract global clients for missions, such as delivering supplies to the International Space Station and supporting the US-led Artemis moon exploration programme.
TOKYO: After two failed attempts, Japan successfully launched its next generation rocket into orbit on Saturday, Al Jazeera reported. According to the report, the next generation H3 rocket had a "successful liftoff" at 9:22 am Tokyo time (12:22 GMT) and entered its planned orbit carrying a dummy satellite and two functioning microsatellites, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said in a live broadcast.
Employees at the JAXA command centre cheered and hugged each other during the broadcast as the rocket reached its trajectory and released its first payload. The H3's microsatellites are expected to assist with disaster prevention efforts and monitor the operation conditions of factories.
The H3 was designed to replance the H-IIA which has been in service since 2001 and is billed as Japan's flexible and cost effective flagship rocket. The H3, which was developed with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, is designed to carry a 6.5 metric tonne payload into space for as little as five billion yen (USD 33 million) per launch, about half the cost of its predecessor, Al Jazeera reported.
JAXA hopes that the H3's lower costs and greater payload capacity will attract global clients for missions, such as delivering supplies to the International Space Station and supporting the US-led Artemis moon exploration programme. Tokyo has said it intends to launch about 20 satellites and probes with H3 rockets by 2030.
The H3's successful launch follows back-to-back failures last year, including a botched launch in March that ended with ground control utilising the rocket's self-destruct function shortly after blast-off after the second-stage engine failed to ignite, Al Jazeera reported. JAXA identified three possible electrical faults in a subsequent review of the launch, but could not determine the direct cause of the failure, which caused significant delays to its space plans.
Japan last month successfully landed its unmanned probe SLIM on the moon, becoming the fifth country to place a craft on the lunar surface.