H-IIA (H-2A) is an active

expendable launch system An expendable launch system (or expendable launch vehicle/ELV) is a launch vehicle that can be launched only once, after which its components are destroyed during reentry or impact with Earth, or discarded in space. ELVs typically consist of s ...

operated by

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the prede ...

(MHI) for the

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency The is the Japanese national Aeronautics, air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satell ...

. These liquid fuel

rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

s have been used to launch

satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

s into

geostationary orbit A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular orbit, circular geosynchronous or ...

; lunar orbiting spacecraft; '' Akatsuki'', which studied the planet Venus; and the

Emirates Mars Mission The Emirates Mars Mission () is a United Arab Emirates Space Agency uncrewed space exploration mission to Mars. The ''Hope'' probe (, ''Misbar Al-Amal'') was launched on 20 July 2020, and went into orbit around Mars on 9 February 2021. The p ...

, which was launched to Mars in July 2020. Launches occur at the Tanegashima Space Center. The H-IIA first flew in 2001. , H-IIA rockets were launched 49 times, including 43 consecutive missions without a failure, dating back to 29 November 2003. Production and management of the H-IIA shifted from JAXA to MHI on 1 April 2007. Flight 13, which launched the lunar orbiter

SELENE In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Selene (; , meaning "Moon")''A Greek–English Lexicon's.v. σελήνη is the goddess and personification of the Moon. Also known as Mene (), she is traditionally the daughter ...

, was the first H-IIA launched after this privatization. The H-IIA is a derivative of the earlier H-II rocket, substantially redesigned to improve reliability and minimize costs. There have been four variants, with two in active service (as of 2020) for various purposes. A derivative design, the H-IIB, was developed in the 2000s and made its

maiden flight The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets. In the early days of aviation it could be dange ...

in 2009 before finally retired on its final launch in 2020.

Vehicle description

The base configuration, and the only remaining active configuration of an H-IIA launch vehicle, uses two SRB-A type solid rocket boosters (SRBs). The launch capability of the H-IIA launch vehicle could be enhanced by adding an additional two SRB-A boosters or up to four Castor 4AXL solid strap-on boosters (SSBs). The models are indicated by three or four numbers following the prefix "H2A": * The first number in the sequence indicates the number of stages (always 2) * The second number in the sequence indicates the number of liquid rocket boosters (a planned addition to the launch vehicle that was canceled, so always 0) * The third number in the sequence indicates the number of SRB-A type solid rocket boosters (2 or 4) * The fourth, optional, number in the sequence indicates the number of Castor 4AXL solid strap-on boosters (2 or 4)

Variants

;Launch system status:

Launch history

The first H-IIA was successfully launched on 29 August 2001, followed by a string of successes. The sixth launch on 29 November 2003, intended to launch two IGS

reconnaissance satellite A reconnaissance satellite or intelligence satellite (commonly, although unofficially, referred to as a spy satellite) is an Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications. The ...

s, failed. JAXA announced that launches would resume in 2005, and the first successful flight took place on 26 February 2005 with the launch of MTSAT-1R. The first launch for a mission beyond Earth orbit was on 14 September 2007 for the

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 10 September 2009. For the 29th flight on 24 November 2015, an H-IIA with an upgraded second stage launched the

Telstar 12V Telstar 12V ''(Telstar 12 Vantage)'' is a communication satellite in the Telstar series of the Canadian satellite communications company (law), company Telesat. The satellite was the first dedicated commercial payload of the Japanese H-IIA launch ...

satellite, the first commercial primary payload for a Japanese launch vehicle.

References

Notes Sources * *

External links

H-IIA LAUNCH SERVICES
, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

Failed Launch, 11-29-2003

{{Japanese launch systems Expendable space launch systems Mitsubishi Heavy Industries space launch vehicles Vehicles introduced in 2001 de:H-II#H-IIA

Vehicle description

Variants

Launch history

See also

References

External links