MHI
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.
Sierra Space to work with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries on commercial space station technologies
Sierra Space and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) have signed an agreement to study collaboration on technologies to support a planned commercial space station.
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.
Large launch companies cast doubt on viability of small launch vehicle market
Executives of major launch companies said they doubted there was sufficient demand for more than a few small launch vehicle developers, citing their own efforts to provide rideshare launch services for smallsats.
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.
Commercial launch industry off to slow start in 2020
The first half of 2020 has been sluggish for the commercial launch industry, but its problems can’t be explained solely by the coronavirus pandemic.
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.
Launch pad fire scrubs Japanese ISS launch
The launch of a Japanese cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station was postponed Sept. 10 when a fire broke out on a launch platform several hours before the scheduled liftoff.
Launch companies look to government customers for stability
With the size and growth of commercial markets uncertain, launch companies are looking to government agencies to varying degrees for stability and funding for the development of new vehicles.
Inmarsat books Japanese H3 rocket’s first commercial launch
British satellite operator Inmarsat announced Dec. 5 it will be the first commercial customer of the next-generation H3 rocket from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan.
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.
Inmarsat picks MHI’s H2-A to launch its first sixth-gen satellite
Global satellite fleet operator Inmarsat said Sept. 12 that it has chosen Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to launch Inmarsat-6 F1 in 2020 aboard an H-2A 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.
