H-IIA

For other uses, see H2A (disambiguation).
H-IIA

H-IIA No. F23 rolls out to the launch pad in February 2014
Function Launch vehicle
Manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (prime)

ATK (sub)

Country of origin Japan
Size
Height 53 m (173 ft)
Diameter 4 m (13.1 ft)
Mass 285,000 - 445,000 kg (628,317 - 981,057 lb)
Stages 2
Capacity
Payload to LEO 10,000 - 15,000 kg (22,046 - 33,069 lb)
Payload to
GTO		 4,100 - 6,000 kg (9,038 - 13,227 lb)
Launch history
Status Active
Launch sites LA-Y, Tanegashima
Total launches 30
(202: 18, 204: 2, 2022: 3, 2024: 7)
Successes 29
(202: 18, 204: 2, 2022: 3, 2024: 6)
Failures 1 (2024)
First flight 202: 29 August 2001
204: 18 December 2006
2022: 26 February 2005
2024: 4 February 2002
Notable payloads SELENE
Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite
Akatsuki
Boosters (All Variants) - SRB-A, SRB-A3
No. boosters 2 - 4
Engines 1 Solid
Thrust 4,520 - 9,040kN (SRB-A)
Specific impulse 280 seconds (2.7 km/s)
Burn time 120 seconds
Fuel Solid
Boosters (H-IIA 2022/2024) - Castor 4AXL
No. boosters 2 - 4
Engines 1 Solid
Thrust (1,490 - 2,980kN)
Specific impulse 283 seconds (2.78 km/s)
Burn time 60 seconds
Fuel Solid
First stage
Engines 1 LE-7A
Thrust 1,098 kN (246,840 lbf)
Specific impulse 440 seconds (4.3 km/s)
Burn time 390 seconds
Fuel LOX/LH2
Second stage
Engines 1 LE-5B
Thrust 137 kN (30,798 lbf)
Specific impulse 447 seconds (4.38 km/s)
Burn time 534 seconds
Fuel LOX/LH2
Liftoff of H-IIA Flight 19
H-IIA rocket lineup
H-IIA

H-IIA (H2A) is an active expendable launch system operated by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The liquid-fueled H-IIA rockets have been used to launch satellites into geostationary orbit, to launch a lunar orbiting spacecraft, and to launch an interplanetary space probe to Venus. Launches occur at the Tanegashima Space Center. The H-IIA first flew in 2001 and has been launched 30 times by February 2016.

Production and management of the H-IIA shifted from JAXA to MHI on April 1, 2007. Flight 13, which launched the lunar orbiter SELENE, was the first H-IIA launched after this privatization.[1]

The H-IIA is a derivative of the earlier H-II rocket, substantially redesigned to improve reliability and minimize costs. There are currently two (formerly four) different variants of the H-IIA in active service for various purposes. A derivative design, the H-IIB, was developed in the 2000s and made its maiden flight in 2009.

Vehicle description

The launch capability of an H-IIA launch vehicle can be enhanced by adding SRB-A (solid rocket booster or SRB) and Castor 4AXL (solid strap-on booster or SSB) to its basic configuration, creating a "family". The models are indicated by three or four numbers following the prefix "H2A". The first number in the sequence indicates the number of stages; the second number of liquid rocket boosters (LRBs); the third number of SRBs; and, if present, the fourth number shows the number of SSBs.[2] The first two figures are virtually fixed at "20", as H-IIA is always two-staged, and the plans for LRBs were cancelled and superseded by the H-IIB.

Variants

As of 2007 there are four different configurations shown in the following table.

DesignationMass (tonnes)Payload (tonnes to GTO)Addon modules
H2A2022854.12 SRB-A (SRB)
H2A2022 (discontinued)[3]3164.52 SRB-A (SRB) + 2 Castor 4AXL (SSB)
H2A2024 (discontinued)34752 SRB-A (SRB) + 4 Castor 4AXL (SSB)
H2A20444564 SRB-A (SRB)
H2A212 (cancelled)4037.52 SRB-A (SRB) + 1 LRB
H2A222 (cancelled)5209.52 SRB-A (SRB) + 2 LRBs

Launch history

The first H-IIA was successfully launched on August 29, 2001, followed by a string of successes.

The sixth launch on November 29, 2003, intended to launch two IGS reconnaissance satellites, failed. JAXA announced that launches would resume in 2005, and the first successful flight took place on February 26 with the launch of MTSAT-1R.

The first launch for a mission beyond Earth orbit was on September 14, 2007 for the SELENE moon mission. The first foreign payload on the H-IIA was the Australian FedSat-1 in 2002. As of March 2015, 27 out of 28 launches were successful.

A rocket with increased launch capabilities, H-IIB, is a derivative of the H-IIA family. H-IIB uses two LE-7A engines in its first stage, as opposed to one in H-IIA. The first H-IIB was successfully launched on September 10, 2009.

For the 29th flight on November 24, 2015, an H-IIA with an upgraded second stage[4] launched the Canadian Telstar 12V satellite, the first commercial primary payload for a Japanese launch vehicle.[5]

Date (UTC) Flight Type Payload Result
August 29, 2001
07:00:00 		TF1 H2A202 Japan VEP 2
Japan LRE 		Success
February 4, 2002
02:45:00 		TF2 H2A2024 Japan VEP 3
Japan MDS-1 (Tsubasa)
Japan DASH 		Success
September 10, 2002
08:20:00 		F3 H2A2024Japan USERS
Japan DRTS (Kodama) 		Success
December 14, 2002
01:31:00 		F4 H2A202Japan ADEOS 2 (Midori 2)
Japan WEOS (Kanta-kun)
Australia FedSat 1
Japan Micro LabSat 1 		Success
March 28, 2003
01:27:00 		F5 H2A2024Japan IGS-Optical 1
Japan IGS-Radar 1 		Success
November 29, 2003
04:33:00 		F6 H2A2024 Japan IGS-Optical (2)
Japan IGS-Radar (2) 		Failure[note]
February 26, 2005
09:25:00 		F7 H2A2022 Japan MTSAT-1R (Himawari 6) Success
January 24, 2006
01:33:00 		F8 H2A2022Japan ALOS (Daichi) Success
February 18, 2006
06:27:00 		F9 H2A2024Japan MTSAT-2 (Himawari 7) Success
September 11, 2006
04:35:00 		F10 H2A202 Japan IGS-Optical 2 Success
December 18, 2006
06:32:00 		F11 H2A204 Japan ETS-VIII (Kiku 8) Success
February 24, 2007
04:41:00 		F12 H2A2024 Japan IGS-Radar 2
Japan IGS-Optical 3V 		Success
September 14, 2007
01:31:01 		F13 H2A2022 Japan SELENE (Kaguya) Success
February 23, 2008
08:55:00 		F14 H2A2024 Japan WINDS (Kizuna) Success
January 23, 2009
03:54:00 		F15 H2A202 Japan GOSAT (Ibuki)
Japan SDS-1
Japan STARS (Kūkai)
Japan KKS-1 (Kiseki)
Japan PRISM (Hitomi)
Japan Sohla-1 (Maido 1)
Japan SORUNSAT-1 (Kagayaki)
Japan SPRITE-SAT (Raijin) 		Success[6]
November 28, 2009
01:21:00 [7] 		F16 H2A202 Japan IGS-Optical 3Success
May 20, 2010
21:58:22[8][9][10] 		F17 H2A202[11] Japan PLANET-C (Akatsuki)
Japan IKAROS
Japan UNITEC-1 (Shin'en)
Japan Waseda-SAT2
Japan K-Sat (Hayato)
Japan Negai☆		Success
September 11, 2010
11:17:00[12] 		F18 H2A202 Japan QZS-1 (Michibiki) Success
September 23, 2011
04:36:50 [13]		 F19 H2A202 Japan IGS-Optical 4 Success
December 12, 2011
01:21:00 [14]		 F20 H2A202 Japan IGS-Radar 3 Success
May 17, 2012
16:39:00 		F21 H2A202[15] Japan GCOM-W1 (Shizuku)
South Korea KOMPSAT-3 (Arirang 3)
Japan SDS-4
Japan HORYU-2 		Success
January 27, 2013
04:40:00 		F22 H2A202 Japan IGS-Radar 4
Japan IGS-Optical 5V		Success
February 27, 2014
18:37:00 		F23 H2A202 Japan United States GPM-Core
Japan SindaiSat (Ginrei)
Japan STARS-II
Japan TeikyoSat-3
Japan ITF-1
Japan OPUSAT
Japan INVADER
Japan KSAT2		Success
May 24, 2014
03:05:14 		F24 H2A202 Japan ALOS-2 (Daichi 2)
Japan RISING-2
Japan UNIFORM-1
Japan SOCRATES
Japan SPROUT		Success
October 7, 2014
05:16:00 		F25 H2A202 Japan Himawari 8 Success
December 3, 2014
04:22:04 		F26 H2A202 Japan Hayabusa 2
Japan Shin'en 2
Japan ARTSAT2-DESPATCH
Japan PROCYON		Success
February 1, 2015
01:21:00 		F27 H2A202 Japan IGS-Radar SpareSuccess
March 26, 2015
01:21:00 		F28 H2A202 Japan IGS-Optical 5Success
November 24, 2015[16]
06:50:00 		F29 H2A204 Canada Telstar 12 Vantage Success
February 17, 2016
08:45:00[16] 		F30 H2A202 Japan United States ASTRO-H (Hitomi)
Japan ChubuSat-2
Japan ChubuSat-3
Japan Horyu-4 		Success

Planned launches

^note A hot gas leak from one SRB-A motor destroyed its separation system. The strap-on did not separate as planned, and the weight of the spent motor prevented the vehicle from achieving its planned height.[17]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ "Mitsubishi and Arianespace Combine Commercial Satellite Launch Services". SatNews. Archived from the original on February 8, 2012.
  2. ↑ "H-IIA Launch Vehicle" (PDF). JAXA. p. 2. Retrieved 2007-09-15.
  3. ↑ 三菱重工、「H2A」2機種に半減・民営化でコスト減. NIKKEI NET
  4. ↑ "Launch Result of Telstar 12 VANTAGE by H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 29". JAXA. 24 Nov 2015. Retrieved 30 Nov 2015.
  5. ↑ William Graham (23 Nov 2015). "Japanese H-IIA successfully lofts Telstar 12V". NASASpaceflight.com. Retrieved 30 Nov 2015.
  6. ↑ "Launch Result of the IBUKI (GOSAT) by H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 15". MHI and JAXA. January 23, 2009.
  7. ↑ "H-IIA F16". Sorae.
  8. ↑ "Launch Day of the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 17". JAXA. March 3, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Overview of Secondary Payloads". JAXA.
  10. ↑ Tariq Malik (18 May 2010). "New Venus Probe to Launch Thursday From Japan After". space.com. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
  11. ↑ Chris Bergin (17 May 2010). "JAXA launch H-IIA carrying AKATSUKI and IKAROS scrubbed". NASASpacflight.com. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
  12. ↑ "New Launch Day of the First Quasi-Zenith Satellite 'MICHIBIKI' by H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 18". JAXA.
  13. ↑ Chris Bergin (23 September 2011). "Japanese H-2A launches with new IGS military satellite". NASASpaceflight.com.
  14. ↑ Chris Bergin (11 December 2011). "Japanese H-2A lofts IGS (Radar-3) satellite into orbit". NASASpaceflight.com.
  15. ↑ "Launch Overview – H-IIA Launch Services Flight No.21". Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Retrieved April 15, 2012.
  16. 1 2 "Launch Schedule". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  17. ↑ "Launch Result of IGS #2/H-IIA F6". JAXA. November 29, 2003. Retrieved June 19, 2013.

Sources

External links

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