A Mitsubishi Heavy Industries staff member stands next to the top of the first stage of a H3 rocket, inside the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Nagoya Aerospace Systems Works Tobishima Plant in Tobishima, Aichi prefecture Thursday, March 21, 2024. long.
The H3 is designed to carry larger payloads than the H-2A at about half its launch cost, or about 50 billion yen , to be globally competitive.Niitsu said there are other ways to be competitive, for example by providing flexible launch schedules and being better at meeting clients’ needs. In January, a H-2A rocket successfully placed a spy satellite into orbit, and days later JAXA’s unmanned spacecraft SLIM made the world’s first “pinpoint” moon landing.