H3

Active

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI)

None

Description

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.

Specifications

Stages
2
Length
63.0 m
Diameter
5.27 m
Fairing Diameter
5.27 m
Launch Mass
574.0 T
Thrust
―

Family

Name
H3
Family
―
Variant
―
Alias
―
Full Name
H3

Payload Capacity

Launch Cost
$50000000
Low Earth Orbit
―
Geostationary Transfer Orbit
6500.0 kg
Direct Geostationary
―
Sun-Synchronous Capacity
―

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

Commercial

President: Seiji Izumisawa

MHI 1884

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.

Upcoming Spaceflights

H3 | Inmarsat satellite

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | Japan
Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
TBD December, 2025

Status: To Be Determined

Unknown Mission

There are no mission or payload details available for this launch.

Explore Share

H3 | MBR Explorer

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | Japan
Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
TBD March, 2028

Status: To Be Determined

Mission:

An United Arab Emirates Space Agency (UAESA) planetary mission to visit main belt asteroids. Named after Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the spacecraft will fly by six main belt asteroids between 2030 and 2033 before rendezvousing on a seventh, Justitia, in 2034, later deploying a lander.

Asteroid

Explore Share

H3 | DESTINY+ & RAMSES

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | Japan
Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
TBD April, 2028

Status: To Be Determined

Mission:

DESTINY+ (Demonstration and Experiment of Space Technology for INterplanetary voYage with Phaethon fLyby and dUst Science) is a planned asteroid exploration mission to 3200 Phaethon, the parent body of the Geminids meteor shower. It will demonstrate further improvements of low cost solar electric propulsion in deep space and innovative light-weight solar array panel technology. The spacecraft will carry 3 science instruments: * DESTINY Dust Analyzer (DDA) * Telescopic Camera for Phaethon (TCAP) * Multiband Camera for Phaethon (MCAP) RAMSES (Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety) is a European-Japanese planetary defense mission to near-Earth asteroid 99942 Apophis, led by the European Space Agency (ESA). The spacecraft will arrive around Apophis in February 2029, before the asteroid’s very close fly-by to Earth on 13 April 2029. It will conduct measurements of the asteroid's properties before and during the Earth flyby to study its response to the close encounter with the planet. The spacecraft will leverage much of the technology developed for the Hera mission. At the asteroid, RAMSES will deploy two smaller CubeSats, one carrying a dust analyser, a low-frequency radar, the other will attempt to land on Apophis and provide high-resolution images from the surface.

Success

5 days, 12 hours ago

Starlink Group 10-21

Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 28 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.