TOBISHIMA, Japan — Japan’s space agency and its prime contractor said Thursday they hope to be able to forge a profitable launch business with their new H3 rocket after its first successful flight last month in an increasingly competitive market dominated by Space X.
“Today, the commercial market has a big demand for rockets, and there is a substantial shortage of rockets," he said, standing next the rocket's second stage at a news conference. “Space X is virtually dominating the market right now, but I believe there are high expectations of our role as an alternative.”An H3 rocket successfully reached orbit and released two small observation satellites on Feb.
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