TOKYO– Japan’s space agency announced a plan Friday to launch a major upgrade to its satellite imaging system, as a new flagship rocket is put to the test for the third time.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency announced that an H3 rocket will be launched from the Tanegashima Space Center, on an island in southwestern Japan, in the early afternoon of June 30, with a launch window that will extend until the end of July.
The rocket will carry an advanced Earth observation satellite, ALOS-4, whose primary task will be Earth observation and data collection for disaster response and mapping, as well as monitoring military activity such as missile launches, with an infrared sensor developed by the Defense. Ministry. ALOS-4 is the successor to the current ALOS-2 and can observe a much wider area.
The launch will be the third for the H3, after a failed debut in March 2023 and a successful launch on February 17. During the first attempt, the rocket’s second stage engine failed to ignite and the rocket had to be destroyed along with its main payload. , a satellite that was supposed to be ALOS-3.
During H3 No. 2, it carried two commercially developed observation microsatellites and a mock-up of ALOS.
JAXA and its prime contractor Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have been developing the H3 as a successor to its current mainstay, the H-2A, which will retire after two more flights. MHI will eventually take over production and launches of the H3 from JAXA and hopes to make it commercially viable.
Japan views a stable and commercially competitive space transportation capability as key to the country’s space program and national security.
The 57-meter (187-foot) long H3 rocket is designed to carry larger payloads than the H-2A at about half its launch cost.