Japan Launches Most Powerful H3 Rocket, Sending New Cargo Ship to Space Station
MANILA — Japan’s space agency successfully launched its most powerful flagship H3 rocket on Sunday, carrying a newly developed unmanned cargo spacecraft on its first mission to deliver supplies to the International Space Station.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, said the HTV-X1 spacecraft lifted off atop the No. 7 H3 rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan and entered its targeted orbit about 14 minutes after liftoff.
The spacecraft later separated and settled into a planned orbit, JAXA said. If all goes as planned, it is expected to reach the orbiting lab within a few days. Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, currently aboard the station, is scheduled to capture the craft with a robotic arm early Thursday.
‘Stork’
The HTV-X is the successor to JAXA’s H-II Transfer Vehicle, known as Kounotori — meaning “stork” in Japanese — which completed nine missions to the ISS between 2009 and 2020.
The upgraded freighter can carry a larger payload and supply power during flight, allowing it to transport laboratory samples that require cold storage. It is designed to remain docked with the ISS for up to six months, delivering supplies and retrieving waste before performing additional technical missions in orbit for about three months.
Launch Marks Reliability of Japan in Space
Sunday’s launch also marked the debut of the H3 rocket’s most powerful configuration, equipped with four solid boosters and a larger payload fairing, officials said.
JAXA President Hiroshi Yamakawa hailed the launch as “a major step forward,” saying it demonstrated Japan’s growing capability to sustain autonomous space operations.
Iwao Igarashi, head of the Space Business Department at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries — which co-developed the H3 rocket with JAXA and handles launch operations — said Japan’s record of reliable launches and precise payload delivery shows the rocket can meet diverse customer demands.
He said the company plans to expand its launch facilities to support future missions.
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