H3 (rocket)
The H3 Launch Vehicle is a Japanese expendable launch system. H3 launch vehicles are liquid-propellant rockets with strap-on solid rocket boosters and are launched from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and JAXA are responsible for the design, manufacture, and operation of the H3. The H3 is the world's first rocket to use an expander bleed cycle for the first stage engine.
A model of the H3 Launch Vehicle | |
| Function | Medium-lift launch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries |
| Country of origin | Japan |
| Cost per launch | US$50 million (H3-303S) |
| Size | |
| Height | 63 m (207 ft) |
| Diameter | 5.27 m (17.3 ft) |
| Mass | 574,000 kg (1,265,000 lb) (Gross for H3-24L Variant) |
| Stages | 2 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to SSO | |
| Mass | 4,000 kg (8,800 lb) (H3-30S/L) |
| Payload to GTO (∆Ｖ=1500 m/s) | |
| Mass | 4,000–7,900 kg (8,800–17,400 lb) (H3-24S/L) |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Active |
| Launch sites | Tanegashima, LA-Y |
| Total launches | 1 |
| Failure(s) | 1 |
| First flight | 7 March 2023 |
| Type of passengers/cargo | ALOS-3 |
| Boosters | |
| No. boosters | 0, 2 or 4 |
| Powered by | SRB-3 |
| Maximum thrust | 2,158 kN (485,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 283.6 s (2.781 km/s) |
| Burn time | 105 seconds |
| Propellant | Solid |
| First stage | |
| Powered by | 2 or 3 LE-9 |
| Maximum thrust | 2,942 or 4,413 kN (661,000 or 992,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 425 s (4.17 km/s) |
| Propellant | LH2 / LOX |
| Second stage | |
| Powered by | 1 LE-5B-3 |
| Maximum thrust | 137 kN (31,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 448 s (4.39 km/s) |
| Propellant | LH2 / LOX |
As of July 2015, the minimum configuration is to carry a payload of up to 4,000 kg (8,800 lb) into Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) for about 5 billion yen, and the maximum configuration is to carry more than 6,500 kg (14,300 lb) into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). The H3-24 variant will deliver more than 6,000 kg (13,000 lb) of payload to lunar transfer orbit (TLI) and 8,800 kg (19,400 lb) of payload to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO)(∆Ｖ=1830 m/s).