WASHINGTON - Japan's H3 rocket has successfully completed its first flight since a spectacular failure in December, placing six small satellites into orbit and proving that third time's the charm for a vehicle that has historically struggled with the whole 'staying intact' thing.
The H3 lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center at 8:54 p.m. Eastern on June 11, marking the debut of a new configuration called the H3-30S. This variant features three LE-9 engines in its first stage instead of the usual two, and notably does not use any solid rocket boosters - presumably because JAXA wanted to try something different after the last incident.
The launch was primarily a test flight of the H3-30S variant but carried six small satellites. Among them was BRO-22, a satellite from French company Unseenlabs that will join the company's constellation of maritime tracking spacecraft - because apparently even space isn't big enough to hide your cargo ships.
Unseenlabs noted that BRO-22 was the first satellite not built in Japan to launch on the H3, a milestone arranged by Japanese integrator Space BD. "This collaboration with Space BD & JAXA is important for Unseenlabs. Japan is a strategic partner for France, and also for Unseenlabs," said Clément Galic, chief executive of Unseenlabs, in a statement before the launch. One can only assume he was crossing his fingers.
While the launch was a test flight of this new version of the H3, it also served as a return to flight for the rocket after its previous outing in December failed to deliver the Michibiki 5 navigation satellite to orbit. The earlier failure was initially linked to a problem with the rocket's upper stage, but an investigation by JAXA revealed a more dramatic chain of events.
The investigation found that unusual shocks during payload fairing separation damaged both the satellite and its payload adapter. Parts of the adapter then damaged the upper stage and punctured liquid hydrogen propellant lines, causing the stage to underperform. Apparently, the payload itself fell off the adapter at the time of stage separation and never made it to space with the upper stage - cameras showed what appeared to be Michibiki 5 drifting away from the upper stage after separation, presumably looking for a better ride.
This was the eighth flight of the H3, a rocket designed to serve both commercial and Japanese government customers. It now has a record of two failures, including its inaugural launch in 2023, and six successes - which is technically a majority, if you squint.
The return to flight of the H3 clears the way for key missions, including the second HTV-X cargo mission to the International Space Station later this year and the launch of the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission to return samples from the Martian moon Phobos, scheduled for late this year. Here's hoping Phobos doesn't get any bright ideas about falling off.