Japan launches H3 rocket a year after failed first flight

TOKYO — Japan successfully launched its new H3 flagship rocket on Feb 17, putting its satellite programme back on track after multiple setbacks, including the failure of the rocket's inaugural flight in 2023.

The launch also marks a second straight win for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) after its Moon lander, Slim, achieved a "pinpoint" touchdown in January.

A relatively small player in space by number of launches, Japan is seeking to revitalise its programme as it partners with ally the US to counter China.

The H3 had a "successful lift-off" at 9.22am (8.22am Singapore time) and was "on course" with its engines properly working, Jaxa said in a live broadcast that showed scientists clapping and hugging one another at the Tanegashima Space Centre in southern Japan.

All its payloads — two microsatellites and a dummy satellite — were successfully released, the agency later said.

The H3 will replace the two-decade-old H-IIA. Jaxa and primary contractor Mitsubishi Heavy Industries hope that its lower costs and greater payload capacity will help them win launch orders from global clients.

"This is really good. It's taken some time for the programme to get to this point, but with this launch they will be fielding inquiries from around the world," said Professor Ko Ogasawara of the Tokyo University of Science.

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The H3's first flight in March 2023 ended with ground control destroying the rocket 14 minutes after lift-off because its second-stage engine failed to ignite.

Jaxa listed three possible electrical faults in a review released in October 2023, but could not identify the direct cause.

The 63m H3 is designed to carry a 6.5-tonne payload into space and reduce per-launch cost to as low as five billion yen (S$44.8 million) by adopting simpler structures and automotive-grade electronics.

By comparison, the H-IIA costs about 10 billion yen per launch.

The government plans to launch about 20 satellites and probes with H3 rockets by 2030.

The H3 is scheduled to deliver a lunar explorer for the joint Japan-India Lupex project in 2025 as well as cargo spacecraft for the US-led Artemis Moon exploration programme in the future.

Satellite launch demands have skyrocketed thanks to the rise of affordable commercial vehicles such as SpaceX's reusable Falcon 9 and a number of new rockets are being tested in 2024.

January 2024 marked the successful inaugural flight of the United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

The European Space Agency also plans to launch its lower-cost Ariane 6 for the first time in 2024.

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