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Can Japan’s space sector reach for the stars after H3 rocket’s successful launch?
- Japan can tap strong demand for commercial satellite launches as its rivals face major hurdles in their space programmes, analysts say
- But the East Asian nation has to show it can continue to launch satellites into orbit with the H3 rocket while keeping costs down for clients
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Japan’s successful launch of its H3 rocket and deployment of two observation satellites have been hailed as a breakthrough for the country’s space sector, prompting calls for it to step up efforts to tap growing global demand for commercial satellite launches.
Some analysts caution, however, that while the rocket launch by the Japan Aerospace Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) on Saturday was a positive start, they need to demonstrate that the H3 can reliably and efficiently put satellites into orbit – and is cost competitive – with another 10 or so launches.
Japan lags behind Elon Musk’s SpaceX in commercial satellite launches, they say, but there is an opportunity for the H3 to get ahead of other potential rivals, including rockets being developed by Europe, India, China, Russia and South Korea.
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One of the satellites put into space using the H3 was developed by Canon Electronics, another belonged to a consortium that included Japan Space Systems.
The H3 is designed to succeed the H-IIA rocket, which first flew in 2001 and is reaching the end of its design life, with just two more launches scheduled.
Japan started work on the H3 some years ago but developing its first-stage LE-9 engine was more problematic than anticipated. The engine is designed to deliver 40 per cent more propulsion than the engine in the H-IIA, but its complexities caused the H3’s maiden launch to be delayed twice.
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