Japan’s H3 rocket returned to flight on Friday as a new, lower-cost version made its debut, a much-needed success for the country’s new flagship rocket that has suffered a mission failure while facing an increasingly competitive space industry.The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said during the live broadcast that the H3 rocket was launched from the Tanegashima Space Center on the southwestern island of Japan on Friday morning, and its second stage successfully reached a target orbit.Six small satellites developed by universities and other organizations carried by the vehicle are also believed to have been successfully separated, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said.Friday’s mission marks the debut of a new “Configuration 30” of the H3 vehicle equipped with triple LE-9 liquid-propellant engines and no rocket boosters, which is intended to be a lower-cost version that will make the series more competitive.
The variant is one of three designed to meet a wide range of customer needs.The sixth successful launch comes after two failures of the new model that replaced the mainstay H-2A, which had a near-perfect success record.The H3 rocket is designed to be more cost-effective in the global space market dominated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company. Japan views stable, commercially competitive transportation capacity as key to its space program and national security.
During its maiden flight in March 2023, the H3 failed to ignite its second-stage engine. Then in December, the rocket was launched carrying a navigation satellite, but it failed to put the payload into the planned orbit due to a malfunction in the second stage engine.H3 has been grounded since December and Friday’s third failure was a major blow to future Japanese space projects, including a planned Mars mission in 2028. A smaller series of Epsilon S has also been delayed since it caught fire during a test in 2024.The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which are jointly developing the rocket, hope to eventually launch H3 six to eight times a year.
