Japan successfully launched its flagship H3 rocket Friday morning, marking the resumption of the rocket's flights roughly six months after a failed mission in December and the first flight of a new low-cost configuration intended to strengthen the country's competitiveness in the global launch market, Report informs via The Japan Times.
The H3 Launch Vehicle No. 6 lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture at 9:53 a.m. (GMT+9), according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). It reached its target orbit approximately 16 minutes later.
Friday's mission was the first flight of the H3's "30 configuration," a booster-free variant equipped with three first-stage liquid-fueled LE-9 engines and no solid rocket boosters. The configuration is expected to be the lowest-cost model in the H3 series.
The H3 is Japan's next-generation mainstay rocket, developed by JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as the successor to the H-IIA. The program is intended to provide a more flexible and lower-cost launch vehicle as global demand for satellite launches continues to grow.
Unlike some previous H3 missions, No. 6 did not carry a large operational satellite. Instead, it carried JAXA's Vehicle Evaluation Payload-5, or VEP-5, a dummy satellite designed to collect flight data and verify the rocket"s performance. Six small secondary satellites developed by universities and other organizations were also carried aboard the rocket.
Two of these satellites have separated, and if the remaining four can be placed into orbit, the mission will be considered a complete success.
The launch had originally been scheduled for Wednesday but was postponed due to poor weather.
The mission was closely watched after the previous launch of the H3 failed in December while carrying Michibiki No. 5, a quasi-zenith satellite that forms part of Japan's satellite positioning system, sometimes described as the Japanese version of GPS. During that launch, the rocket's second-stage engine stopped burning earlier than planned, preventing the satellite from reaching its intended orbit.
December's setback left Japan in a critical position, without a reliable means of transporting goods into space. Friday's successful launch is an important comeback for Japan as it seeks to restore confidence in the H3 series and demonstrate that the rocket can support a wider range of missions, thus reviving the country's space development.
JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are planning a busy launch schedule for fiscal 2026. Planned payloads include Michibiki No. 7, the HTV-X cargo transfer vehicle, the Martian Moons eXploration probe, a space domain awareness satellite, an information-gathering satellite and the Engineering Test Satellite No. 9.