H3

Active

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI)

None

Description

The H3 Launch Vehicle is an expendable launch system in development in Japan. H3 rockets are liquid-propellant rockets with strap-on solid rocket boosters and are planned to be launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. Mitsubishi and the JAXA have been responsible for the design, manufacture, and operation of the H3.

Specifications
  • Stages
    2
  • Length
    63.0 m
  • Diameter
    5.27 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    5.27 m
  • Launch Mass
    574.0 T
  • Thrust
Family
  • Name
    H3
  • Family
  • Variant
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    H3
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $50000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
    6500.0 kg
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

Commercial
President: Seiji Izumisawa
MHI 1884

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. is a Japanese multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group. MHI's products include aerospace components, air conditioners, aircraft, automotive components, forklift trucks, hydraulic equipment, machine tools, missiles, power generation equipment, printing machines, ships and space launch vehicles. Through its defense-related activities, it is the world's 23rd-largest defense contractor measured by 2011 defense revenues and the largest based in Japan.

Upcoming Spaceflights


H3 | Inmarsat satellite

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | Japan
Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
TBD December, 2025
Status: To Be Determined
Unknown Mission

There are no mission or payload details available for this launch.


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H3 | MBR Explorer

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | Japan
Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
TBD March, 2028
Status: To Be Determined
Mission:

An United Arab Emirates Space Agency (UAESA) planetary mission to visit main belt asteroids. Named after Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the spacecraft will fly by six main belt asteroids between 2030 and 2033 before rendezvousing on a seventh, Justitia, in 2034, later deploying a lander.

Asteroid
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H3 | DESTINY+ & RAMSES

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | Japan
Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
TBD April, 2028
Status: To Be Determined
Mission:

DESTINY+ (Demonstration and Experiment of Space Technology for INterplanetary voYage with Phaethon fLyby and dUst Science) is a planned asteroid exploration mission to 3200 Phaethon, the parent body of the Geminids meteor shower. It will demonstrate further improvements of low cost solar electric propulsion in deep space and innovative light-weight solar array panel technology. The spacecraft will carry 3 science instruments: * DESTINY Dust Analyzer (DDA) * Telescopic Camera for Phaethon (TCAP) * Multiband Camera for Phaethon (MCAP) RAMSES (Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety) is a European-Japanese planetary defense mission to near-Earth asteroid 99942 Apophis, led by the European Space Agency (ESA). The spacecraft will arrive around Apophis in February 2029, before the asteroid’s very close fly-by to Earth on 13 April 2029. It will conduct measurements of the asteroid's properties before and during the Earth flyby to study its response to the close encounter with the planet. The spacecraft will leverage much of the technology developed for the Hera mission. At the asteroid, RAMSES will deploy two smaller CubeSats, one carrying a dust analyser, a low-frequency radar, the other will attempt to land on Apophis and provide high-resolution images from the surface.

Asteroid
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Long March 11
Go
6 hours, 45 minutes ago
Unknown Payload
Oriental Spaceport mobile launch ship - Sea Launch

Details TBD.


Falcon 9
Success
2 days, 6 hours ago
Starlink Group 11-14
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 28 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
3 days, 2 hours ago
Starlink Group 6-81
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Electron
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3 days, 7 hours ago
The Nation God Navigates (iQPS Launch 5)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Synthetic aperture radar Earth observation satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company iQPS.


Ariane 62
Success
4 days, 6 hours ago
Sentinel-1D
Ariane Launch Area 4 - Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

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