H-IIA (H-2A) is an active expendable launch system operated by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. These liquid fuel rockets have been used to launch satellites into geostationary orbit; lunar orbiting spacecraft; Akatsuki, which studied the planet Venus; and the Emirates Mars Mission, which was launched to Mars in July 2020. Launches occur at the Tanegashima Space Center. The H-IIA first flew in 2001. As of September 2024[update], H-IIA rockets were launched 49 times, including 43 consecutive missions without a failure, dating back to 29 November 2003.
 H-IIA rolls out to the launch pad, February 2014 | |
| Function | Medium-lift launch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries |
| Country of origin | Japan |
| Cost per launch | US$90 million[1] |
| Size | |
| Height | 53 m (174 ft) |
| Diameter | 4 m (13 ft) |
| Mass | 285,000–445,000 kg (628,000–981,000 lb) |
| Stages | 2 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO | |
| Mass | 10,000–15,000 kg (22,000–33,000 lb) |
| Payload to GTO | |
| Mass | 4,100–6,000 kg (9,000–13,200 lb) |
| Associated rockets | |
| Family | H-II family |
| Based on | H-II |
| Derivative work | H-IIB |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Active |
| Launch sites | Tanegashima, LA-Y1 |
| Total launches |
|
| Success(es) |
|
| First flight |
|
| Last flight |
|
| Type of passengers/cargo | |
| Boosters – SRB-A | |
| No. boosters | 2–4 |
| Height | 15.1 m (50 ft) |
| Diameter | 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) |
| Maximum thrust | 2,260 kN (510,000 lbf) |
| Total thrust | 4,520–9,040 kN (1,020,000–2,030,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 280 s (2.7 km/s) |
| Burn time | 120 seconds |
| Propellant | HTPB |
| Boosters (2022, 2024) – Castor 4A-XL | |
| No. boosters | 2–4 |
| Height | 12 m (38 ft) |
| Diameter | 1.02 m (40.1 in)[2] |
| Gross mass | 14,983 kg (33,031 lb) |
| Propellant mass | 13,112 kg (28,906 lb) |
| Maximum thrust | 765 kN (172,060 lbf) |
| Total thrust | 1,531–3,061 kN (344,120–688,240 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 282.6 s (2.771 km/s) |
| Burn time | 58 seconds |
| Propellant | HTPB/Al |
| First stage | |
| Height | 37.2 m (122 ft) |
| Diameter | 4 m (13 ft) |
| Powered by | 1 × LE-7A |
| Maximum thrust | 1,098 kN (247,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 440 s (4.3 km/s) |
| Burn time | 390 seconds |
| Propellant | LH2 / LOX |
| Second stage | |
| Height | 9.2 m (30 ft) |
| Diameter | 4 m (13 ft) |
| Powered by | 1 × LE-5B |
| Maximum thrust | 137 kN (31,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 447 s (4.38 km/s) |
| Burn time | 534 seconds |
| Propellant | LH2 / LOX |
Production and management of the H-IIA shifted from JAXA to MHI on 1 April 2007. Flight 13, which launched the lunar orbiter SELENE, was the first H-IIA launched after this privatization.[3]
The H-IIA is a derivative of the earlier H-II rocket, substantially redesigned to improve reliability and minimize costs. There have been four variants, with two in active service (as of 2020) for various purposes. A derivative design, the H-IIB, was developed in the 2000s and made its maiden flight in 2009 before finally retired on its final launch in 2020.
Vehicle description
editThe base configuration, and the only remaining active configuration of an H-IIA launch vehicle, uses two SRB-A type solid rocket boosters (SRBs). The launch capability of the H-IIA launch vehicle could be enhanced by adding an additional two SRB-A boosters or up to four Castor 4AXL solid strap-on boosters (SSBs).
The models are indicated by three or four numbers following the prefix "H2A":[4]
- The first number in the sequence indicates the number of stages (always 2)
- The second number in the sequence indicates the number of liquid rocket boosters (a planned addition to the launch vehicle that was canceled, so always 0)
- The third number in the sequence indicates the number of SRB-A type solid rocket boosters (2 or 4)
- The fourth, optional, number in the sequence indicates the number of Castor 4AXL solid strap-on boosters (2 or 4)
Variants
edit- Launch system status
| Designation | Mass (tonnes) | Payload to GTO (tonnes) | Addon modules |
|---|---|---|---|
| H2A 202 | 285 | 4.1 | 2 SRB-A (SRB) |
| H2A 2022[5] | 316 | 4.5 | 2 SRB-A (SRB) + 2 Castor 4AXL (SSB) |
| H2A 2024 | 347 | 5 | 2 SRB-A (SRB) + 4 Castor 4AXL (SSB) |
| H2A 204 | 445 | 6 | 4 SRB-A (SRB) |
| H2A 212 | 403 | 7.5 | 2 SRB-A (SRB) + 1 LRB [6][7] |
| H2A 222 | 520 | 9.5 | 2 SRB-A (SRB) + 2 LRBs [6] |
Launch history
editThe first H-IIA was successfully launched on 29 August 2001, followed by a string of successes.
The sixth launch on 29 November 2003, intended to launch two IGS reconnaissance satellites, failed. JAXA announced that launches would resume in 2005, and the first successful flight took place on 26 February 2005 with the launch of MTSAT-1R.
The first launch for a mission beyond Earth orbit was on 14 September 2007 for the SELENE Moon mission. The first foreign payload on the H-IIA was the Australian FedSat-1 in 2002. As of March 2015, 27 out of 28 launches were successful.
A rocket with increased launch capabilities, H-IIB, is a derivative of the H-IIA family. H-IIB uses two LE-7A engines in its first stage, as opposed to one in H-IIA. The first H-IIB was successfully launched on 10 September 2009.
For the 29th flight on 24 November 2015, an H-IIA with an upgraded second stage[8] launched the Telstar 12V satellite, the first commercial primary payload for a Japanese launch vehicle.[9]
| Flight
No. |
Date (UTC) | Type | Payload(s) | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TF1 | 29 August 2001 07:00:00 |
H2A 202 | VEP 2 LRE |
Success |
| TF2 | 4 February 2002 02:45:00 |
H2A 2024 | VEP 3 MDS-1 (Tsubasa) DASH |
Success |
| F3 | 10 September 2002 08:20:00 |
H2A 2024 | USERS DRTS (Kodama) |
Success |
| F4 | 14 December 2002 01:31:00 |
H2A 202 | ADEOS 2 (Midori 2) WEOS (Kanta-kun) FedSat 1 Micro LabSat 1 |
Success |
| F5 | 28 March 2003 01:27:00 |
H2A 2024 | IGS-Optical 1 IGS-Radar 1 |
Success |
| F6 | 29 November 2003 04:33:00 |
H2A 2024 | IGS-Optical IGS-Radar |
Failure |
| A hot gas leak from SRB-A motor destroyed its separation system and the booster did not separate as planned. The weight of the spent motor prevented the vehicle from achieving its planned speed and height and it was destroyed via a ground command about 10 minutes into the flight.[10] | ||||
| F7 | 26 February 2005 09:25:00 |
H2A 2022 | MTSAT-1R (Himawari 6) | Success |
| F8 | 24 January 2006 01:33:00 |
H2A 2022 | ALOS (Daichi) | Success |
| F9 | 18 February 2006 06:27:00 |
H2A 2024 | MTSAT-2 (Himawari 7) | Success |
| F10 | 11 September 2006 04:35:00 |
H2A 202 | IGS-Optical 2 | Success |
| F11 | 18 December 2006 06:32:00 |
H2A 204 | ETS-VIII (Kiku 8) | Success |
| F12 | 24 February 2007 04:41:00 |
H2A 2024 | IGS-Radar 2 IGS-Optical 3V |
Success |
| F13 | 14 September 2007 01:31:01 |
H2A 2022 | SELENE (Kaguya) | Success |
| F14 | 23 February 2008 08:55:00 |
H2A 2024 | WINDS (Kizuna) | Success |
| F15 | 23 January 2009 03:54:00 |
H2A 202 | GOSAT (Ibuki) SDS-1 STARS (Kūkai) KKS-1 (Kiseki) PRISM (Hitomi) Sohla-1 (Maido 1) SORUNSAT-1 (Kagayaki) SPRITE-SAT (Raijin) |
Success [11] |
| F16 | 28 November 2009 01:21:00 [12] |
H2A 202 | IGS-Optical 3 | Success |
| F17 | 20 May 2010 21:58:22 [13][14][15] |
H2A 202 [16] | PLANET-C (Akatsuki) IKAROS UNITEC-1 (Shin'en) Waseda-SAT2 K-Sat (Hayato) Negai☆″ |
Success |
| F18 | 11 September 2010 11:17:00 [17] |
H2A 202 | QZS-1 (Michibiki) | Success |
| F19 | 23 September 2011 04:36:50 [18] |
H2A 202 | IGS-Optical 4 | Success |
| F20 | 12 December 2011 01:21:00 [19] |
H2A 202 | IGS-Radar 3 | Success |
| F21 | 17 May 2012 16:39:00 |
H2A 202 [20] | GCOM-W1 (Shizuku) KOMPSAT-3 (Arirang 3) SDS-4 HORYU-2 |
Success |
| F22 | 27 January 2013 04:40:00 |
H2A 202 | IGS-Radar 4 IGS-Optical 5V |
Success |
| F23 | 27 February 2014 18:37:00 |
H2A 202 | GPM-Core SindaiSat (Ginrei) STARS-II (Gennai) TeikyoSat-3 ITF-1 (Yui) OPUSAT (CosMoz) INVADER KSAT2 |
Success |
| F24 | 24 May 2014 03:05:14 |
H2A 202 | ALOS-2 (Daichi 2) RISING-2 UNIFORM-1 SOCRATES SPROUT |
Success |
| F25 | 7 October 2014 05:16:00 |
H2A 202 | Himawari 8 | Success |
| F26 | 3 December 2014 04:22:04 |
H2A 202 | Hayabusa2 Shin'en 2 ARTSAT2-DESPATCH PROCYON |
Success |
| F27 | 1 February 2015 01:21:00 |
H2A 202 | IGS-Radar Spare | Success |
| F28 | 26 March 2015 01:21:00 |
H2A 202 | IGS-Optical 5 | Success |
| F29 | 24 November 2015 06:50:00 |
H2A 204 | Telstar 12 Vantage | Success |
| F30 | 17 February 2016 08:45:00 |
H2A 202 | ASTRO-H (Hitomi) ChubuSat-2 (Kinshachi 2) ChubuSat-3 (Kinshachi 3) Horyu-4 |
Success |
| The Hitomi telescope broke apart 37 days after launch.[21] | ||||
| F31 | 2 November 2016 06:20:00 |
H2A 202 | Himawari 9 | Success |
| F32 | 24 January 2017 07:44:00 |
H2A 204 | DSN-2 (Kirameki 2) | Success |
| F33 | 17 March 2017 01:20:00 |
H2A 202 | IGS-Radar 5 | Success |
| F34 | 1 June 2017 00:17:46 |
H2A 202 | QZS-2 (Michibiki 2) | Success |
| F35 | 19 August 2017 05:29:00 |
H2A 204 | QZS-3 (Michibiki 3) | Success |
| F36 | 9 October 2017 22:01:37 |
H2A 202 | QZS-4 (Michibiki 4) | Success |
| F37 | 23 December 2017 01:26:22 |
H2A 202 | GCOM-C (Shikisai) SLATS (Tsubame) |
Success |
| F38 | 27 February 2018 04:34:00 |
H2A 202 | IGS-Optical 6 | Success |
| F39 | 12 June 2018 04:20:00 |
H2A 202 | IGS-Radar 6 | Success |
| F40 | 29 October 2018 04:08:00 |
H2A 202 | GOSAT-2 (Ibuki-2) KhalifaSat Diwata-2B Tenkōh Stars-AO (Aoi) AUTcube2 (Gamacube) |
Success |
| F41 | 9 February 2020 01:34:00 |
H2A 202 | IGS-Optical 7 | Success |
| F42 | 19 July 2020 21:58:14 |
H2A 202 | Emirates Mars Mission (Hope) | Success |
| F43 | 29 November 2020 07:25:00 |
H2A 202 | JDRS/LUCAS | Success |
| F44 | 26 October 2021 02:19:37 |
H2A 202 | QZS-1R | Success |
| F45 | 22 December 2021 15:32:00 |
H2A 204 | Inmarsat-6 F1 | Success |
| F46 | 26 January 2023 01:50:21 |
H2A 202 | IGS-Radar 7 | Success |
| F47 | 6 September 2023 23:42:11 |
H2A 202 | XRISM SLIM |
Success |
| F48 | 12 January 2024 04:44:26 |
H2A 202 | IGS-Optical 8 | Success |
| F49 | 26 September 2024 05:24:20 |
H2A 202 | IGS-Radar 8 | Success |
| F50 | NET Q3 2024 | H2A 202 | GOSAT-GW | Planned |
| Final flight of H-IIA, and H-II family as a whole. | ||||
See also
editReferences
editNotes
- ^ "Surplus Missile Motors: Sale Price Drives Potential Effects on DOD and Commercial Launch Providers". Government Accountability Office. 16 August 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
- ^ "Propulsion Products Catalog" (PDF). Northrop Grumman.
- ^ "Mitsubishi and Arianespace Combine Commercial Satellite Launch Services". SatNews. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012.
- ^ "H-IIA Launch Vehicle" (PDF). JAXA. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 February 2008. Retrieved 15 September 2007.
- ^ 三菱重工、「H2A」2機種に半減・民営化でコスト減. NIKKEI NET
- ^ a b "Japan Reenters Rocket Race With New Improved H2A". Space Daily. 20 August 2001.
- ^ "H-2A".
- ^ "Launch Result of Telstar 12 VANTAGE by H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 29". JAXA. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ^ William Graham (23 November 2015). "Japanese H-IIA successfully lofts Telstar 12V". NASASpaceflight. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ^ "Launch Result of IGS #2/H-IIA F6". JAXA. 29 November 2003. Archived from the original on 25 September 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
- ^ "Launch Result of the IBUKI (GOSAT) by H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 15". MHI and JAXA. 23 January 2009. Archived from the original on 21 June 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2009.
- ^ "H-IIA F16". Sorae. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012.
- ^ "Launch Day of the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 17". JAXA. 3 March 2010. Archived from the original on 3 June 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ "Overview of Secondary Payloads". JAXA.
- ^ Tariq Malik (18 May 2010). "New Venus Probe to Launch Thursday From Japan After". space.com. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
- ^ Chris Bergin (17 May 2010). "JAXA launch H-IIA carrying AKATSUKI and IKAROS scrubbed". NASASpaceflight. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
- ^ "New Launch Day of the First Quasi-Zenith Satellite 'MICHIBIKI' by H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 18". JAXA.
- ^ Chris Bergin (23 September 2011). "Japanese H-2A launches with new IGS military satellite". NASASpaceflight.
- ^ Chris Bergin (11 December 2011). "Japanese H-2A lofts IGS (Radar-3) satellite into orbit". NASASpaceflight.
- ^ "Launch Overview – H-IIA Launch Services Flight No.21". Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Archived from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
- ^ Clark, Stephen (18 April 2016). "Attitude control failures led to break-up of Japanese astronomy satellite". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
Sources
- "Japan Prepares for Crucial Rocket Launch". SPACE.com. Retrieved 16 February 2005.
- "H-IIA Expendable Launch Vehicle". SPACEandTECH. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2005.
External links
edit- H-IIA LAUNCH SERVICES Archived 12 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
- JAXA H-IIA English page
- JAXA English page
- JAXA Launch Schedule Archived 11 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- Tanegashima Space Center Archived 8 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- "Tanegashima Space Center"– VISIT JAXA --
- Encyclopedia Astronautica page
- Failed Launch, 11-29-2003
- Image
- Launch 2 Image