Japan Space Program Gets Its Groove Back

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — After a series of embarrassing stumbles, Japan’s space program is putting some wins on the board again.

There was a palpable sigh of relief at Tanegashima Space Station when H3 rocket No. 2 had a picture-perfect takeoff, smoothly performed its second-stage ignition, and then entered its planned orbit without a hitch.

The H3 launch vehicle has been designed to become the successor to Japan’s current mainstay, the H2A rocket, providing a new level of capability to Japan’s space efforts.

“We are very happy to see such great achievements in the space field following the successful SLIM Moon landing,” commented Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. “I would like to express my respect for the efforts of everyone involved over the years, and hope that Japan’s core rockets will continue to steadily accumulate achievements.”

The first H3 rocket launched last March suffered a failure during its second-stage ignition and was ordered to self-destruct. This capped a series of other setbacks for the space program.

The H3 has been developed since 2014 by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries at a cost of about ¥220 billion (US$1.5 billion).

Sanae Takaichi, whose portfolio includes the position of Minister of State for Space Policy, issued a statement noting that “since there are only a small number of countries and regions that can launch their own rockets, we hope that the use of the H3 rocket, which captures not only domestic but also overseas launch demand, will lead to economic growth for Japan.”

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