The first launch of the new launch vehicle may take place during the 2021 fiscal year
TOKYO, March 17. /TASS/. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on Wednesday unveiled a new two-stage H-III launch vehicle. This is stated in a message published on the agency's website.
It is noted that the launch vehicle was installed on the territory of the Tanegashima cosmodrome in southwestern Japan. At the moment, work is underway to refuel the H-III with fuel, which uses liquid hydrogen (oxidizer-liquid oxygen), as well as appropriate checks are being carried out. It is expected that the first launch of the new launch vehicle can take place as early as during the 2021 fiscal year (April 1, 2021 - March 31, 2022).
The H-III is Japan's largest liquid-fueled launch vehicle. Its length is 63 m, diameter-5.2 m. It is expected that it will be able to launch a payload with a mass of more than 4 tons into a sun-synchronous orbit, and a payload with a mass of more than 6.5 tons into a geotransfer orbit.
According to the Kyodo news agency, in this way, the H-III will be able to launch satellites with a mass of 1.3 times more than its predecessor, the H-IIA launch vehicle. At the same time, the production of the H-III will be less expensive due to its simplified design, which will reduce the launch cost by 50%, to 5 billion yen (about $45.8 million) compared to the H-IIA.
