Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) H3 launch vehicle in flight

Inmarsat books Japanese H3 rocket’s first commercial launch

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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.

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MHI Dr. Ko Ogasawara

Japan to modernize spaceport launch pads to support H3 rocket

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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.

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Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' Ko Ogasawara, right, speaks during a panel Sept. 12 at Euroconsult's World Satellite Business Week as ULA CEO Tory Bruno (left) and Gao Ruofei, CGWIC's executive vice president, look on. Credit: SpaceNews/Brian Berger

Inmarsat picks MHI’s H2-A to launch its first sixth-gen satellite

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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.

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MHI H3 Configurations

MHI says H3 rocket development on track for 2020

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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.

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