H-IIA

H-IIA
H-IIA No. F23 rolls out to the launch pad in February 2014
Function Medium-lift launch vehicle
Manufacturer
Country of origin Japan
Cost per launch US$90 million
Size
Height 53 m (174 ft)
Diameter 4 m (13 ft)
Mass 285,000–445,000 kg (628,000–981,000 lb)
Stages 2
Capacity
Payload to LEO 10,000–15,000 kg (22,000–33,000 lb)
Payload to GTO 4,100–6,000 kg (9,000–13,200 lb)
Associated rockets
Family H-II
Derivatives H-IIB
Launch history
Status Active
Launch sites Tanegashima LA-Y
Total launches
  • 39
    • 202: 25
    • 204: 4
    • 2022: 3
    • 2024: 7
Successes
  • 38
    • 202: 25
    • 204: 4
    • 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
Last flight
  • 202: 12 June 2018
  • 204: 19 August 2017
  • 2022: 14 September 2007
  • 2024: 23 February 2008
Notable payloads
Boosters (All variants) – SRB-A
No. boosters 2–4
Thrust 2,260 kN (510,000 lbf)
Total thrust 4,520–9,040 kN (1,020,000–2,030,000 lbf)
Specific impulse 280 seconds (2.7 km/s)
Burn time 120 seconds
Fuel HTPB
Boosters (2022 / 2024) – Castor 4A-XL
No. boosters 2–4
Thrust 745 kN (167,000 lbf)
Total thrust 1,490–2,980 kN (330,000–670,000 lbf)
Specific impulse 280 seconds (2.7 km/s)
Burn time 60 seconds
Fuel Solid
First stage
Engines 1 LE-7A
Thrust 1,098 kN (247,000 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 (31,000 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 Akatsuki, which studied the planet Venus. Launches occur at the Tanegashima Space Center. The H-IIA first flew in 2001. As of December 2017, H-IIA rockets were launched 37 times, including 31 consecutive missions without a failure, dating back to November 29, 2003.

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

DesignationMass (tonnes)Payload (tonnes to GTO)Addon modules
H2A 2022854.12 SRB-A (SRB)
H2A 2022 (discontinued)[3]3164.52 SRB-A (SRB) + 2 Castor 4AXL (SSB)
H2A 2024 (discontinued)34752 SRB-A (SRB) + 4 Castor 4AXL (SSB)
H2A 20444564 SRB-A (SRB)
H2A 212 (cancelled)4037.52 SRB-A (SRB) + 1 LRB
H2A 222 (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)FlightTypePayload(s)Outcome
August 29, 2001
07:00:00		TF1H2A 202Japan VEP 2
Japan LRE		Success
February 4, 2002
02:45:00		TF2H2A 2024Japan VEP 3
Japan MDS-1 (Tsubasa)
Japan DASH		Success
September 10, 2002
08:20:00		F3H2A 2024Japan USERS
Japan DRTS (Kodama)		Success
December 14, 2002
01:31:00		F4H2A 202Japan ADEOS 2 (Midori 2)
Japan WEOS (Kanta-kun)
Australia FedSat 1
Japan Micro LabSat 1		Success
March 28, 2003
01:27:00		F5H2A 2024Japan IGS-Optical 1
Japan IGS-Radar 1		Success
November 29, 2003
04:33:00		F6H2A 2024Japan IGS-Optical (2)
Japan IGS-Radar (2)		Failure
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.[6]
February 26, 2005
09:25:00		F7H2A 2022Japan MTSAT-1R (Himawari 6)Success
January 24, 2006
01:33:00		F8H2A 2022Japan ALOS (Daichi)Success
February 18, 2006
06:27:00		F9H2A 2024Japan MTSAT-2 (Himawari 7)Success
September 11, 2006
04:35:00		F10H2A 202Japan IGS-Optical 2Success
December 18, 2006
06:32:00		F11H2A 204Japan ETS-VIII (Kiku 8)Success
February 24, 2007
04:41:00		F12H2A 2024Japan IGS-Radar 2
Japan IGS-Optical 3V		Success
September 14, 2007
01:31:01		F13H2A 2022Japan SELENE (Kaguya)Success
February 23, 2008
08:55:00		F14H2A 2024Japan WINDS (Kizuna)Success
January 23, 2009
03:54:00		F15H2A 202Japan 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[7]
November 28, 2009
01:21:00 [8]		F16H2A 202Japan IGS-Optical 3Success
May 20, 2010
21:58:22[9][10][11]		F17H2A 202[12]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[13]		F18H2A 202Japan QZS-1 (Michibiki)Success
September 23, 2011
04:36:50[14]		F19H2A 202Japan IGS-Optical 4Success
December 12, 2011
01:21:00[15]		F20H2A 202Japan IGS-Radar 3Success
May 17, 2012
16:39:00		F21H2A 202[16]Japan GCOM-W1 (Shizuku)
South Korea KOMPSAT-3 (Arirang 3)
Japan SDS-4
Japan HORYU-2		Success
January 27, 2013
04:40:00		F22H2A 202Japan IGS-Radar 4
Japan IGS-Optical 5V		Success
February 27, 2014
18:37:00		F23H2A 202Japan United States GPM-Core
Japan SindaiSat (Ginrei)
Japan STARS-II (Gennai)
Japan TeikyoSat-3
Japan ITF-1 (Yui)
Japan OPUSAT (CosMoz)
Japan INVADER
Japan KSAT2		Success
May 24, 2014
03:05:14		F24H2A 202Japan ALOS-2 (Daichi 2)
Japan RISING-2
Japan UNIFORM-1
Japan SOCRATES
Japan SPROUT		Success
October 7, 2014
05:16:00		F25H2A 202Japan Himawari 8Success
December 3, 2014
04:22:04		F26H2A 202Japan Hayabusa 2
Japan Shin'en 2
Japan ARTSAT2-DESPATCH
Japan PROCYON		Success
February 1, 2015
01:21:00		F27H2A 202Japan IGS-Radar SpareSuccess
March 26, 2015
01:21:00		F28H2A 202Japan IGS-Optical 5Success
November 24, 2015
06:50:00		F29H2A 204Canada Telstar 12 VantageSuccess
February 17, 2016
08:45:00		F30H2A 202Japan ASTRO-H (Hitomi)
Japan ChubuSat-2 (Kinshachi 2)
Japan ChubuSat-3 (Kinshachi 3)
Japan Horyu-4		Success
The Hitomi telescope broke apart 37 days after launch.[17]
November 2, 2016
06:20:00		F31H2A 202Japan Himawari 9Success
January 24, 2017
07:44:00		F32H2A 204Japan DSN-2 (Kirameki 2)Success
March 17, 2017
01:20:00		F33H2A 202Japan IGS-Radar 5Success
June 1, 2017
00:17:46		F34H2A 202Japan QZS-2 (Michibiki 2)Success
August 19, 2017
05:29:00		F35H2A 204Japan QZS-3 (Michibiki 3)Success
October 9, 2017
22:01:37		F36H2A 202Japan QZS-4 (Michibiki 4)Success
December 23, 2017
01:26:22		F37H2A 202Japan GCOM-C (Shikisai)
Japan SLATS (Tsubame)		Success
February 27, 2018
04:34:00		F38H2A 202Japan IGS-Optical 6Success
June 12, 2018
04:20:00		F39H2A 202Japan IGS-Radar 6Success

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. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-02-28. 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 IGS #2/H-IIA F6". JAXA. November 29, 2003. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Launch Result of the IBUKI (GOSAT) by H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 15". MHI and JAXA. January 23, 2009.
  8. ↑ "H-IIA F16". Sorae. Archived from the original on 2012-01-21.
  9. ↑ "Launch Day of the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 17". JAXA. March 3, 2010.
  10. ↑ "Overview of Secondary Payloads". JAXA.
  11. ↑ Tariq Malik (18 May 2010). "New Venus Probe to Launch Thursday From Japan After". space.com. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
  12. ↑ Chris Bergin (17 May 2010). "JAXA launch H-IIA carrying AKATSUKI and IKAROS scrubbed". NASASpacflight.com. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
  13. ↑ "New Launch Day of the First Quasi-Zenith Satellite 'MICHIBIKI' by H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 18". JAXA.
  14. ↑ Chris Bergin (23 September 2011). "Japanese H-2A launches with new IGS military satellite". NASASpaceflight.com.
  15. ↑ Chris Bergin (11 December 2011). "Japanese H-2A lofts IGS (Radar-3) satellite into orbit". NASASpaceflight.com.
  16. ↑ "Launch Overview – H-IIA Launch Services Flight No.21". Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Retrieved April 15, 2012.
  17. ↑ Clark, Stephen (18 April 2016). "Attitude control failures led to break-up of Japanese astronomy satellite". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 21 April 2016.

Sources

  • "Japan Prepares for Crucial Rocket Launch". SPACE.com. Retrieved 16 February 2005.
  • "H-IIA Expendable Launch Vehicle". SPACEandTECH. Archived from the original on January 21, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2005.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.