Japanese space agency reports successful launch of H3 rocket. Ukrainian army withdraws from Avdiivka – the night update without photos

After years of delays, Japan’s Jaxa space agency has reported the successful launch of its new H3 launch vehicle. The H3 rocket had been “placed into orbit,” a Jaxa representative told the AFP news agency on Saturday.

A few minutes earlier, at 9:23 a.m. local time (1:23 a.m. CET), the rocket had launched from the Tanegashima cosmodrome in southwestern Japan.

There were cheers and applause from the Jaxa control center after the agency’s livestream showed the rocket’s engines had been successfully ignited. This means it had reached Earth’s orbit.

Competition from SpaceX

The H3 is of great importance to the Japanese space industry. The 63-meter-high, 574-ton rocket with a transport capacity of up to six tons is said to be more cost-effective and reliable than its predecessors, thus competing with other launch vehicles such as the Falcon 9 from the American company SpaceX.

Two failed start attempts

Last year, two attempts to launch the H3 failed: on the first attempt in February, the solid rocket boosters failed to ignite. On the next attempt, in March, the spacecraft was ordered to self-destruct after the command center concluded the mission would not be successful.

The rocket’s maiden flight was originally scheduled for Japan’s 2020/21 fiscal year, but was postponed due to technical issues.

Disaster prevention

There are two smaller Earth observation satellites on board the H3. One of them will be used for disaster prevention, and another will monitor the operating status of factories.

Japan’s space program achieved another historic success in January with the landing of the Slim spacecraft on the moon. Japan managed to land on the moon in its third attempt after two failed missions. Previously, only the US, the Soviet Union, China and India had landed on the moon. (saw/sda/afp)