H3
New launch vehicles inch towards the pad
Several new launch vehicles, some years behind their original schedules, are now expected to make their inaugural launches within the next year.
Japan’s H3 rocket further delayed by engine woes
After spending most of 2020 and all of 2021 struggling with the H3 rocket’s main engine, JAXA says H-2A’s successor will not be ready to launch by the end of March as previously hoped.
JAXA ships new H3 rocket to Tanegashima Space Center for testing
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is transporting its new, flexible H3 rocket to Tanegashima Space center for testing ahead of a first launch.
Japan’s new H3 launcher delayed by rocket engine component issues
The first launches of the new Japanese H3 launch vehicle are being delayed by issues with two components of the rocket’s main engine.
First H3 launch slips to 2021
The Japanese space agency JAXA announced Sept. 11 that the first launch of the country’s new H3 rocket will be delayed to no earlier than the spring of 2021 because of problems with the rocket’s main engine.
MHI pressing through pandemic toward late 2020 H3 rocket debut
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries still expects to conduct the maiden flight of Japan’s H3 rocket this year, notwithstanding the coronavirus pandemic.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries mulls upgraded H3 rocket variants for lunar missions
As Japan prepares to join NASA’s Artemis lunar program, the country’s largest rocket manufacturer says it could upgrade the H3 rocket debuting next year to deliver cargo to the moon as soon as 2025.
Japan to modernize spaceport launch pads to support H3 rocket
Seeking to double the number of launches it can conduct annually, Japan will add a second launch pad to the Tanegashima spaceport to support its next-generation H3 rocket.
MHI says H3 rocket development on track for 2020
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the prime contractor for Japan’s next-generation launch vehicle, the H3, says it is on schedule for a first launch in 2020, and will soon learn if the cost-cutting efforts pursued over the past three years will meet the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s goal of halving launch prices compared to the H-2A.
MHI sets sights on commercial market as H-2A notches second launch of 2016
A Japanese H-2A rocket launched the Himawari-9 geostationary weather satellite Tuesday, marking the workhorse rocket’s second and final launch of 2016.
