H-IIA (H-2A) is an active
expendable launch system operated by
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) for the
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. These liquid fuel
rocket
A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entir ...
s have been used to launch
satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioiso ...
s into
geostationary orbit; lunar orbiting spacecraft; ''
Akatsuki'', which studied the planet Venus; and the
Emirates Mars Mission, 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 45 times, including 39 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, 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.
The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alw ...
in 2009.
Vehicle description
The launch capability of an H-IIA launch vehicle can be enhanced by adding
SRB-A solid rocket booster (SRB) and
Castor 4AXL solid strap-on booster (SSB) to its basic configuration. 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, the number of
liquid rocket boosters (LRBs)
* The third, the number of SRBs
* An optional fourth number shows the number of SSBs.
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first two figures are virtually fixed at "20", as H-IIA is always two-staged, and the plans for LRBs were cancelled and superseded by the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
;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 satellites, 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
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 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 Telesat. The satellite was the first dedicated commercial payload of the Japanese H-IIA
H-IIA (H-2A) i ...
satellite, the first commercial primary payload for a Japanese launch vehicle.
See also
*
Comparison of orbital launchers families
*
Comparison of orbital launch systems
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
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