Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency announced to launch its new flagship rocket H3
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on Tuesday announced to launch its new flagship rocket H3 for paving the way for next-generation transportation technologies.
“Building on the 98.1 per cent success of the H-IIA/B launch vehicle series, Japan is ready to launch this year its new flagship rocket #H3. JAXA (@JAXA_en) & partners are paving the way for next-generation transportation technologies for the #SpaceAge, tweeted Government of Japan. The H3 launch vehicle is Japan’s new flagship rocket aiming at achieving high flexibility, high reliability, and high-cost performance. Its maiden flight is set for Japanese Fiscal Year (JFY) 2020, reported JAXA.
H3 will offer several line-ups by the selection of two types of fairings, two or three first-stage engines (LE-9), and zero, two, or four solid rocket boosters (SRB-3) to deal with various payload sizes and orbits.
Its launch capability to the geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) will be the highest ever, exceeding that of the existing H-IIA and H-IIB launch vehicles, reported JAXA.
The H-series launch vehicle has been supporting satellite and explorer launch missions as a mainstay large-scale launch vehicle with high reliability.
The H-IIB launch vehicle is a powerful version of H-IIA to open the door to a new possibility for future missions including cargo transport to the International Space Station (ISS), reported JAXA.
H3 is under development to be a successor to H-IIA and H-IIB so that Japan can maintain its autonomous access to space to launch satellites and probes including important missions for the government.
