H3-30 Test Flight

The mission

Test flight of the H3-30 variant of the H3 launch vehicle with 3 LE-9 engines in the first stage and no SRBs. The flight will carry a dummy main payload (Vehicle Evaluation Payload 5, VEP-5) and several hitchhiking small satellites: * PETREL * STARS-X * BRO-22 * VERTECS * HORN-L/R

Type

Test flight

Destination

Sun-synchronous orbit

The rocket

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.

Height

63 m

Built by

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

First flew

June 12, 2026

Lifts to geostationary transfer

2,300 kg

View 4 specifications Show less

Diameter

5.3 m

Mass at liftoff

274 t

Thrust at liftoff

4,413 kN

Stages

2

One flight so far, successful.

global.jaxa.jp → Wikipedia →

The operator

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

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.

Sector

Commercial

Based in

Japan

Founded

1884

Run by

Seiji Izumisawa, President

58 launches so far, 56 of them successful. The last 2 in a row went to plan.

mhi.com → Wikipedia →

The launch site

It went up from Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-2 at Tanegashima Space Center, Japan.

See the pad on a map →