HTV-X1

The mission

First flight of the upgraded Japanese HTV-X spacecraft designed to resupply the International Space Station.

Type

Resupply

Destination

Low Earth orbit

Program

International Space Station

The International Space Station programme is tied together by a complex set of legal, political and financial agreements between the sixteen nations involved in the project, governing ownership of the various components, rights to crewing and utilization, and responsibilities for crew rotation and resupply of the International Space Station. It was conceived in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan, during the Space Station Freedom project as it was originally called.

nasa.gov →

The rocket

The H3 Launch Vehicle is an expendable launch system in development in Japan. Each H3 booster configuration has a two-digit and a letter designation that indicates the features of that configuration. The first digit represents the number of LE-9 engines on the main stage, either "2" or "3". The second digit indicates the number of SRB-3 solid rocket boosters attached to the base of the rocket, and can be "0", "2" or "4". All layouts of solid boosters are symmetrical. The letter in the end shows the length of the payload fairing, either short "S" or long "L". For example, an H3-24L has two engines, four solid rocket boosters, and a long fairing, whereas an H3-30S has three engines, no solid rocket boosters, and a short fairing.

Height

63 m

Built by

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

First flew

October 26, 2025

Lifts to geostationary transfer

7,900 kg

View 3 specifications Show less

Diameter

5.3 m

Thrust at liftoff

12,142 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 →