by HELSINKI – Japan on Monday launched the Kirameki 3 defense communications satellite with the fourth flight of the H3 rocket.
The Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) H3 rocket took off in thick clouds and rain over the Tanegashima Space Center on November 4 at 1:48 a.m. Eastern (0648 UTC).
The classified Kirameki 3 satellite deployed just over 29 minutes into the flight, marking an apparent mission success. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) webcast ended shortly after the event and was accompanied by applause from mission control. The spacecraft will reach its final destination in geostationary orbit.
The next-generation two-stage H3 rocket will succeed the H-2A, which has one flight left. The H3 will be the nation’s workhorse for civilian and military missions. These include reconnaissance missions and supplying the ISS with the HTV-X cargo spacecraft.
The H3 comes in configurations without solid rocket boosters, two SRBs, or four SRBs for higher payloads. The last two variants can also use an elongated tub.
The expendable rocket is designed to be more cost-effective and therefore competitive in the international commercial launch market.
The H3’s inaugural launch in March 2023, after numerous delays, suffered an engine failure on the second stage, forcing controllers to issue a destroy command to destroy the stage and its ALOS-3 payload.
It gained momentum in recent months with announcements that the H3 will launch the Emirates asteroid mission, currently scheduled for 2028. Eutelsat announced in September that it has signed a contract to use multiple H3 rockets starting in 2027.
Monday’s mission follows the launch of the advanced Earth observation satellite ALOS-4 on the third H3 rocket four months ago. The launch was Japan’s sixth overall in 2024, with the previous launch seeing the IGS Radar 8 satellite launched on the penultimate H-2A rocket in September.
Japan’s privately developed Kairos rocket from Space One exploded seconds after launch in March. The company is now aiming for a second flight at the end of December 13.
Other Japanese spaceflight activities include the Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan (ADRAS-J), launched on a Falcon 9 in February, and the launch of the StriX radar satellites for Japanese company Synspective on Rocket Lab Electron rockets. A Falcon 9 also launched the joint ESA-JAXA EarthCARE mission. The second lunar lander for the private company ispace is scheduled for December. The mission will be launched with a Falcon 9 rocket.
